Radiant Twilight
by Epona64
Summary: Despair looms on the horizon of two great nations, Hyrule and Tellius; each unaware of the other's existence. They must unite against one man, threatening everyone around him, to keep the peace in their lands.
1. The Dark Knight

Alright

_Alright! Due to some recent fedback, I have decided to add more detail to my earlier chapters. I'm not really changing anything, just adding a few things to make the story even better!. In case you can't tell from the summary or title, this is a crossover between Zelda and Fire Emblem. This will be updated based on the feedback I get, so if you like it, tell me! Also, don't be afraid to point out any errors; after three hours of typing, you can skip over some things. Anyway, enjoy! _

Chapter 1: The Dark Knight

As the sun began its slow decent to the horizon, a lone couple sat overlooking Lake Hylia. The crystalline water was died a brilliant orange in the waning light of the sun. A small flock of Keese flew from a cave on the eastern bank of the river and several Poes lit their lanterns and floated menacingly. The great castle loomed being the lovers, its great towers threatening to pierce the clouds if they descended too low. Surrounding the grounds was a sparse forest, the trees casting threatening shadows across the stone ground of the courtyard. To the couple's left, the rocky earth dropped away to the speeding Zora's river below, its waters creating frothy foam that dared anyone to venture into the freezing waters.

The couple sat, the great beast of the castle at their backs, unaware of the approaching danger; their minds focused only on each other. The woman, with her long, dark blonde hair leaned up against her companion, caressing his shoulder gently as they watched the sun sink lower to the ground. When the sun disappeared completely from view and the moon had begun to rise to take its place, the man looked down at her lovingly and kissed her gently on her forehead before slowly standing.

"It cannot truly be time for you to go?" the woman said, standing as well. The small sheath tied at her waist patted lightly against her leg and her long white dress fluttered slightly in the breeze.

"It would be best if I set out before nightfall." the man said, turning back to the woman. The dusty green color of his tunic standing out against the bright orange light enveloping the two.

"Please, Link, don't go yet!" the woman begged, pulling at the dark blue shield strapped to Link's back.

"I will be back soon. I promise Zelda." Link said, turning to pet Zelda's face gently.

"But I have a horrible feeling. Something is going to happen. I know it!" Zelda pleaded, "Please, just wait until tomorrow!"

"You know I can't do that, love." Link sighed, casting another glace at the peaceful waters of the lake, "Renado has already been patient enough. I must get to him as soon as possible."

Zelda sighed and buried herself in Link's arms.

"Please, wait just one more day. For me?" she begged.

"I promise, I will be back before the first snows fall." Link whispered, stroking Zelda's hair gently.

They stood there for what seemed hours, blind to the nearing peril. Zelda began to weep.

"Promise?" she sobbed.

Link pulled away from her and gently wiped a tear away from his wife's face.

"I promise." he said with a smile.

Out of the corner of his eye, Link noticed a dark figure emerging from the thin wood surrounding the castle. He carefully released Zelda and turned to face the stranger, eyeing the man carefully.

"I hate to interrupt," the shadow called in a smooth voice, "but I believe that it is necessary to accomplish the task at hand."

"And just what would that task be?" Link asked, gently pushing Zelda behind him and reaching back to take hold of the hilt of his sword.

"If you value your life, you will step aside." the shadow said, stepping closer, "I come for the queen and for the queen only."

Zelda placed her hand on Link's shoulder gently and swiftly drew her small rapier. Link looked back at the sound of scratching metal and shook his head sternly, but Zelda only nodded in response.

"It would be a shame to have to kill both of you." the shadow said; now close enough for Link to better make out his appearance.

The shadow was a tall figure encased in black armor. The long, pure white blade at his side seemed to glow in the moonlight. The red cape fluttering behind the shadow completed the man's air of invincibility. Link knew better, no man was invincible, not even himself.

"I will give you one final warning. Step aside or accept your fate." the dark knight said, raising his blade to the sky.

"Run." Link whispered to Zelda as he easily drew his sword from the scabbard on his back.

"No. I will fight with you." Zelda whispered back, eyeing the shadow carefully.

"Please." Link begged softly, "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

"No Link, this is what I sensed, I can tell. I will fight with you."

Link went to continue the argument, but the dark knight interrupted him.

"I see you have made your choice. How unfortunate." the knight said, suddenly swinging his sword down.

The wave of energy that shot from the blade, knocked the two Hylains away from each other before either could react. Link slid to a halt dangerously close to the cliff overlooking the Zora's river and Zelda was thrown closer to the dark knight. As Link pulled himself off the ground, Zelda did the same, readying her rapier. The dark night took another step forward and Zelda charged, raising her sword to attack. Knowing that she wouldn't stand a chance, Link adjusted his grip on his sword and sprinted towards his wife.

Zelda reached the shadow and stuck with a downward slice that should have sliced through the man's armor, decapitating him. Instead, the blade hit the black metal with a sickening _pang _and shattered, the force of her blade breaking left her paralyzed and helpless to her attacker. The shadow lowered his free hand, wrapped it around Zelda's throat and lifted her off the ground. Link was near the knight now, and readied himself. The shadow noticed Link's proximity and sent out another wave of energy from his sword, and—despite Link's attempts to dodge—hit its target head-on, throwing Link backwards. He slammed into the stone earth, struggling to maintain consciousness knowing that if he passed out, both he and Zelda were dead. Link tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out from beneath him, and he fell to the hard stone ground. Link felt his left hand grow warm. Looking down, Link saw the Triforce mark on his hand beginning to glow. Knowing that the three Goddesses were coming to his aid, easily stood and charged again at the knight filled with new strength.

Zelda pulled frantically at the hand clasped around her windpipe, but to no avail. She couldn't breathe, and the want for air was making her go into convulsions. Noticing Link approaching again and annoyed at his constant interference, the shadow twisted his wrist suddenly to the side. A small crack brought a sudden end to Zelda's struggles and Link's charge. The dark night finally released his grip and let Zelda crumple to the cold ground.

Link stood paralyzed, desperate for any movement from his wife. Staring at Zelda's motionless body, Link searched inside himself for any kind of emotion. He found nothing. Link was empty, void of all emotion or pain. He looked up at his wife's murderer. The dark hole of his mind exploded into flames of fury; this man had killed Zelda. _He will pay,_ Link thought angrily, _He will pay dearly. _His eyes full of hatred, Link lifted his sword and ran once more at the shadow.

The knight laughed lightly as he stepped over his victim to meet his new challenge. They met several feet from Zelda's body with an echoing crash, sending sparks flying in the nighttime air. The two warriors stood there in a sort of tug-of-war, each one pushing on their groaning blades, waiting for the other to falter. The dark knight was surprised by the young man's strength, but with the sharp sound of metal scraping metal, threw Link's sword back with a burst of power. Link staggered back, struggling to keep his balance as blood seeped through a deep gash the shadow had sliced in along his side. Link had only enough time to wince in pain before the shadow attacked again; surprisingly fast for his heavy armor.

Link, clutching his side, blocked the quick attacks, trying to keep his ground. Link hesitated as he realized that despite his efforts, the duel was pushing him closer to the sudden end of the castle grounds. The dark night took full advantage of this momentary lapse of concentration and landed another punishing blow on Link, leaving a deep gash across his chest and sending him sliding across the stone floor. As his sword slipped from his hand, Link realized that he was about to plummet to the foaming waters below and managed to get a hold of the edge of the stone floor. His desperate attempts to get a foothold and pull himself up failed—the earth curved away underneath the solid rock above, keeping it just out of reach.

Link heard a soft chuckle from above and knew the shadow was standing at the edge of the cliff, looking down at his condemned victim.

"I must say," the dark knight mocked, "you are one of the best I have fought. Nearly as good as-" his voice trailed off.

Link adjusted his grip on the rock carefully.

"You should have listened to me." the shadow said raising his foot and placing it over Link's left hand. "You could have joined me." the dark knight pressed all his weight on down.

Link gasped in pain as his exposed fingers broke beneath the great weight of the knight. When the shadow lifted his foot, Link's tried to keep his shattered hand's grip on the rock, but the pain was too much, and Link's arm slid uselessly to is side.

"Though I suppose it is too late for that." the knight said lifting his foot again and placing it over Link's remaining hand.

Link looked down at the cold, deep, rushing waters of the Zora's river. The ravenous waters led into the desert; meaning that even if Link did survive the fall, he would be stranded in the Desert of Death. Even with the constant supply of fresh water, death was inevitable. Breathing heavily, Link barely had the strength to keep his hold on the rock.

"It is best not to dwell in the past" the shadow brought his foot down.

Again the crushing pain of breaking bone shot through Link's arm. The only thing holding Link up now was the weight of the shadow on his hand.

"Goodbye." the knight lifted his foot.

As Link fell to the rabid waters below, Link accepted his fate. Death meant that he wouldn't have to live without his love. Death meant that they could be together forever. Link let the swift current pull him under the surface, deciding to let the water take him. The cold liquid rushed into his cuts and washed over his broken hands, numbing them. He would be free of the pain forever. The darkness of death hovered patiently over Link as he was rushed down the river. Link invited the spirit inside him, allowing himself to be taken away. The darkness stirred up Link's old memories of his life; Ordon Village, the dark curse placed on him by Zant, and Midna. The spirit of death brought one more memory to focus; the murder that had taken place only moments ago. Link snapped back into focus, remembering the dark knight. While death meant he would be free to live in peace forever, death also meant that he could not avenge Zelda and that he left the kingdom to that murderer.

Link forced the darkness from his mind and fought to get to the surface of the water. The river was more dangerous than Link had feared; the seasonal rains had flooded the river, making it especially frantic in its journey to the desert. But, after much effort, Link managed to break the surface. His breath was cut short by a sudden wave pushing him under; the darkened was not about to let his victim go. The numbness the chilling water had given to Link was taken away and his open wounds burned as the water rushed inside and his broken fingers screamed against the push of the water. Again, he managed to break the surface, gasping hungrily for air. Managing to stay afloat, Link tried to grasp at the passing rocks, but the water was moving too fast. The murderous current turned Link around, making him blind to the upcoming rock large rock jutting from the riverbed. Link slammed into it, head first. Link sank slowly beneath the red waves of water as he lost consciousness. As Link slid along the bottom of the river, the darkness hovered over him hungrily. It went do claim its prize, but it was suddenly blinded by a flash of golden light. When the spirit recovered, its victim had disappeared.

_So that's the end of the first chapter! Don't worry Link doesn't die! And I had to kill Zelda for the plot! So don't get mad at me!_


	2. Black and Red

Chapter 2:

_Okay, I apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter, but with my recent revisions, I added another page! Yay! Anyway, there is a major spoiler in here for those who have not gotten far enough in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn to discover the identity of the Black Knight. If you don't care, then go ahead, but for those who do, you've been warned. __Also, remember that this is a crossover, k'? 'Tween Zelda and FE: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Just a reminder..._

Chapter 2: Black and Red

A great shadow stood on the great cliff overlooking the dark gash in the earth that was the river flowing beneath him. The stars twinkled unknowingly as the dark knight sent a young man plummeting to his death in the frigid waters below. Zelgius watched carefully to make absolutely sure that his enemy would no longer present a problem to his plans. Once he was sure that the man was lost in the raging rapids of the river, the shadow slid the pitch-black helm from his head and shook his head lightly, causing his navy blue hair to loosen from its flat state. He looked down at the river one last time before turning back to the castle and scanning the area quickly with his green eyes. Just on the other side of the castle, a dull yellow light shone lazily and the low murmur of people going about their night owl lives. The surrounding wood loomed menacingly in the night, threatening to hide any intruders from Zelgius' ever-watchful eyes. Zelgius cast a nervous glace at the great hulking thing that was Hyrule Castle, watching carefully for any movement. Luckily, no one inside had heard the battle, and Zelgius—free to complete his task without further interruption—stepped carefully to the body of his intended victim.

Perhaps he should have brought some of his remaining men with him to help keep an eye out for approaching guards. Zelgius quickly shook the thought quickly from his mind; the few that had survived the treacherous journey across the desert were not reliable enough to take part in such a delicate task. Zelgius sighed and closed his eyes slowly, reminding himself that time was short; the queen's vassals would soon become aware of her absence. Looking down, Zelgius knew that if he left the queen the way she was, it would be difficult to convince the guards that a pack of bandits had killed her. He knelt down and carefully lifted Zelda's limp arm to help fix his minor problem.

"Sorry love." Zelgius whispered as he bent Zelda's pale arm violently.

The soft crack of breaking bone was heard easily in the nighttime air, and Zelgius paused for a moment to listen for approaching footsteps. Zelgius took a moment to scan the area once more, when he noticed something ruffling in the sparse bushes lining the nearby forest. Reaching back to grab his blade, Zelgius slowly stood, eyeing the quivering bushes carefully. His pure white sword shone in the moonlight as he gently raised it in the direction of the shaking bush. Zelgius brought his glowing saber down with tremendous power, sending a blue wave of energy that lit up the surrounding darkness. A strange humanoid figure emerged from the dancing bush, its bright yellow eyes glaring at him beneath hair of leaves. Zelgius took a cautions step forward, and the short creature let out a soft yelp and danced back into the forest, watching Zelgius the whole time with its menacing yellow eyes. Zelgius let out the small breath he had not realized he was holding. It was merely an animal, nothing to be concerned about, even if it was a creature that he had never seen before. Zelgius carefully set the white sword behind him as he knelt down once more, this time next to Zelda's leg. He wrapped his large hands around the queen's cold flesh and twisted it roughly, listening for the small snap. Zelgius took both hands and pressed down on Zelda's still chest with a steady rhythm on the queen's groaning ribcage. Once he was sure that several ribs had been broken, Zelgius carefully pulled a small dagger from the sheath tied to his waist. He went to work, quickly making several seemingly random cuts across Zelda's body.

Nothing the man did was random; every movement had been carefully planned out. Even so, several things had been unexpected; Zelgius had planned for Link to be gone by the time he got there, leaving the princess alone. But even then, the former general had handled the task flawlessly; not leaving a second body to roughen up. Zelgius slowly wiped his knife in the damp grass and carefully slid it back into its sheath. He stood and lifted his ivory bade and let it hover over the left side of Zelda's chest. Zelgius cast one final glance around him before he plunged the sword into the princess's dead heart.

Zelgius carefully removed his thick blade and examined the body laying in front of him, confident that her current state was more than enough to bend the guards to his will. Sighing quietly, Zelgius prepared himself for the final strand for his web of lies. Zelgius looked down at his dark armor; he would have to dispose of it before he could turn his blade on himself. It only took a thought for the black metal to dissolve from his body; replaced by his less majestic red armor. Zelgius had never expected for his sword—the blessed blade Alondite—would ever be turned on him. He took a deep breath as he slowly brought Alondite to his side and closed his eyes. In one quick motion, Zelgius swept the blade across his armor, Alondite slid easily through to Zelgius' flesh leaving a thick gash running through his side.

Wincing slightly, Zelgius cupped his hands, collected some of the blood leaking from his armor and poured it into his mouth. Ignoring the strong metallic taste, Zelgius let the blood settle in his mouth for a few seconds before letting it slowly dribble down his chin. He drew his dagger once more and used it to make deep gashes in his armor, none deep enough to penetrate the thick metal. The last thing to do was to get rid of Alondite; which disappeared just as easily as his armor had, replaced by a plain steel sword. Zelgius threw this a short distance away before walking smoothly to the castle wall. He leaned up against it and slid slowly down, leaving a thick blood trail along the wall. Zelgius smiled through his blood; all he had to do now was wait for someone to discover him and the beaten corpse of the princess. They would think the legendary hero dead, and credit Zelgius for risking his life to save the princess. He wanted to laugh, but Zelgius knew that he couldn't; he must appear to be near death for his plan to work.

Footsteps echoed in the night—the guards had finally become aware of the princess's absence. Of course it was too late. Zelgius stifled another laugh; he closed his eyes and prepared himself for the task ahead.

_Whew! Hopefully, that will be the worst that I write, but I doubt it. _

_If you are reading this, please, please, PLEASE review! I have never been good at proof reading, so I would like to know if I have any embarrassing mistakes in my writing! Also, I love feedback. _


	3. Along the River

Thank you so much for reviewing

_Are you ready? It's the first Fire Emblem chapter! Yay! _

_This is also a good time to kind of explain where my story sits on the FE timeline. So, it pretty much takes place after FE 10, but it is as if the Goddess War never happened, which is also why Zelgius is alive. So basically, everything up to Part 3 in RD has taken place (except for the Endgame and most everything about Lehran's Medallion), but instead of the events of Part four, another war took place, but I'll explain that in later chapters. If any character mentions a war, it is the one of my creation, which I have yet to come up with an official name for... _

_I'm sorry if I confused people, but I promise that everything will be explained later._

Chapter 3: Along the River

The usually peaceful village was reduced to a blood-stained battlefield by the battle had been going since dawn, with both sides growing weary. The village had been invaded by bandits several months ago, forced to give up all of their resources to this band, and stand by as several elders were killed. They had been given restricted access to the nearby river and surrounding forest. The small Daein town had managed to send a messenger out to enlist the help of a group of local mercenaries to help rid themselves of the bloodthirsty monsters. However, the Dawn Brigade was far too small to handle such a large task, so they called in the help of their Crimean friends, the Greil mercenaries. Even with the two armies together, the bandits were still putting up a surprising fight, setting the houses of the village on fire and holding many villagers hostage. The small village was placed in the center of a great open field with a wide road running from the entrance in the south through the thick forest. The wood surrounded the small town on all sides with the river running less than a mile to the east past a wall of vegetation. The battle had started in the south where the rescuing army had entered and had slowly made its way north where the bandit's leader commanded his troops from a half-built structure that loomed menacingly over the rest of the village.

Rhys stood in the forest near the fighting, a great enough distance inside the protecting branches of the trees to keep the attacking bandits aware of his position. Laura and Michiah sat behind him, talking and giggling softly, seemingly unaware of the battle taking place just outside of the forest. Rhys sighed as he looked deeper into the woods and ran his fingers through his bright orange hair. It was hard to watch your comrades' fight when all you can do is watch from the sidelines, unable to lift a weapon. A small group of bandits surged to a house a small distance from the main battle, setting it aflame. Rhys leaned a little harder on his staff as he turned away and tried to ignore the desperate screams of the villagers. Rhys had never liked war, but being sick as often as he was, he was commonly left behind to worry about his fighting comrades. He preferred war to sitting in bed, not sure if his friends would return or not. Besides, Rhys hated being indoors all the time when he was sick, if war was a reason for him to free himself from the bed that he hated so much, so be it. Not only that, but being out in the field gave him a purpose; he could heal wounds.

In the distance, a small white speck broke free of the living mass of fighting men and women and into the healers' secret location Titania carefully made her way to the edge of the forest, weary of and enemies following her. Her pure whit horse was dotted with specks of scarlet blood. The two women behind Rhys turned to look at the approaching knight with dull interest. Titania brought her steed to a halt just in front of the waiting bishop, climbing clumsily off of her blood-stained horse, clutching her arm.

"What happened?" Rhys asked worriedly.

Titania smiled slightly. "Do you really want to know?" she asked.

Rhys knew that he probably didn't. Titania pulled back her hand, revealing a deep gash along her left forearm. Rhys held up his staff—a long cane of wood with an ornamental blue orb affixed at the top—and prayed to the Goddess, Ashera, willing her to heal the wound. Rhys was lost in concentration as he did this, and did not notice the large bandit making his way through the trees towards Rhys and the unarmed paladin. Luckily for them, however, Michiah did and she opened her tome quickly to a well-worn page. She barely had to read the incantation printed on the pages for the magic to take effect. A cloud of light formed over the bandit, who looked up at this enigma; blind to the danger. Several mumbled words later, jagged tendrils of light rained down from the cloud striking the man. No mark was left on his body as he crumpled to the ground—dead.

Rhys sighed and silently thanked the Goddess that Michiah was there as he realized how close he had been. By then, Titainia's cut was healed. She nodded in thanks before nimbly leaping back onto her horse, grapping her axe and galloping back to the fight, her long red braid trailing behind her like a tail. Turning back to the thick forest, Rhys noticed Michiah still keeping an eye out for more bandits.

"Thank you Michiah." Rhys said stepping up to her.

"No problem Rhys!" she said lightly, "Just be more careful, alright?"

Rhys smiled and went to reply, but something caught his eye. A bright flash of golden light shone through the trees in the direction of the river. Michiah did not seem to notice the flash, but did notice Rhys' puzzled gaze looking past her.

"What was it?" she asked.

"I...saw something." Rhys answered slowly.

"What was it?"

"A flash of light." Rhys answered, still confused. He had never seen anything like the mysterious flight before and was trying to decipher just what it was. "I'll be right back." he said, deciding to investigate the phenomenon. He walked passed Michiah.

"Wait!" Michiah shouted as Rhys walked past her, "Where are you going?"

"To the river," Rhys answered distractedly, "for a drink."

Michiah said something else, but Rhys didn't catch it, he continued to walk through the forest to investigate the mysterious light. If a battle wasn't raging nearby, the forest would have been a very relaxing place. Birds skipped lightly through the thick undergrowth and up in the bright green trees, a small squirrel scurried across Rhys' path and his staff made a soft tapping noise as he walked. Rhys—or any other healer for that matter—never went anywhere without a staff. Rhys noticed none of this however, as his mind was still going through the possible explanations for that flash. A small, almost non-existent force seemed to be pushing him towards the river, willing him to investigate the seemingly meaningless flash of golden light.

The soothing lapping of the river was finally louder than the clash of metal and Rhys knew that he was close to his goal. The trees seemed to suddenly pull away revealing the shore of the river and Rhys was disappointed to find that nothing was here.

The river was relatively thick, perhaps one or two hundred feet wide, running north to south a murky red color from the sand it collected from its trip through the Desert of Death. It flowed slowly and lapped gently against the small stones that blanketed its shores. Several larger rocks dotted the banks, casting menacing shadows into the murky waters. On the opposite side of the river, trees sat on a short hill overlooking the river and ran down the banks as far as the eye could see. On Rhys' side of the river, the trees bulged right up to the banks of the river to the west, but stayed far from the shoreline to the east.

Rhys moved further out from the protecting trunks of the trees and into the open, searching for any sort of sign that something strange had happened. To Rhys' slight disappointment, nothing seemed amiss, no strange marks on the ground, things floating in the water or other sort of signs as he had expected. Rhys turned back to the trees, but that small force pricked in the back of his mind again, willing him to keep looking around. He decided to let the force take him where it would, and let it take control of his legs.

Rhys walked closer to the river, bringing its banks for nearly a mile into view. The force stopped him here, and Rhys looked around. There was nothing along the opposite shore, and the southern bank was nothing but trees and other assorted plants. Turning his orange eyes to the northern bank, Rhys saw a dark form laying only a few feet from the moving waters and half-hidden by a large boulder. Though he was still not sure what it was, the frail bishop knew that it was what the force was pointing him to.

As Rhys ran to the figure, it came more into focus. He could see that it was a young man; no older than his commander, Ike. The man was lying motionless in his soaked green tunic. Rhys realized that he must have fallen into river and washed up here. He walked over quickly, his long white robes skirting along the surface of the water. As he drew even closer, Rhys noticed the bags and packs tied to the man and an empty scabbard strapped to his back, covered by a large blue shield with strange designs on it. Rhys wondered where this man had come from—all that was upriver from here were the Desert falls; a series of waterfalls that cascaded through the Desert of Death. It had long been believed that all land past that had been drowned by the Goddesses thousands of years ago.

Rhys ignored this fact and knelt down by the man, noticing that he did not appear to be breathing. Rhys held his head just above the man's mouth and heard—to his relief—a steady, but soft rush of air; the man was alive, but he wouldn't be for long. Rhys noticed two still bleeding wounds; one on the man's side, the other along his chest. Rhys held his staff tightly, closed his eyes, and prayed softly under his breath. The cuts slowly closed their gaping maws and the man's chest moved in a much more visible rhythm. Rhys opened his eyes to examine his work, knowing that he had to get the man to a safer place for his wounds to completely heal.

Rhys sighed and stood, looking around the clearing of the river. Perhaps he should have brought somebody with him; how was he so sure that the invisible force had not been luring him into a trap? Rhys sighed again. He dare not leave the man, not in his vulnerable state, but how else would Rhys get him to camp? Just as Rhys thought this, he could hear someone moving through the woods lining the river. He crouched down behind the nearby boulder and pulled his tome from an inner pocket of his ropes. It opened to a well worn page, and Rhys waited. He would wait to make sure that this individual was an enemy, for all her knew, it could just be one of his comrades, come for a quick rest and a drink.

Unfortunately, a wounded bandit had limped through the woods to the river. Rhys sat as still as he could, desperate for the man not to see him. The bandit staggered clumsily to the river and knelt down—a short axe in his hand—and drank deeply. All he had to do was turn his head and he would see Rhys. As the bandit drank, a soft breeze fluttered the pages of Rhys' book lightly.

That small sound was enough; the bandit pulled himself up and threw his axe in the direction of the noise. Rhys had no time to react, and the axe grazed across his arm, causing him to drop his only defense; his tome. Rhys fell to the ground, clutching at the deep cut in his arm. The bandit said nothing as he stood and unstrapped another axe from his back. He limped over to the helpless Rhys, a wicked smile on his face; he got to kill one more time before death swallowed him up.

Rhys closed his eyes and prayed silently; there was nowhere he could run. Even with the bandit's movement restricted, he still had another throw-able axe that he could toss at Rhys as he made his escape. He could hear the bandits forced breath now; he was within striking range. Rhys cringed as he waited for the axe to come down, to slice into his vulnerable flesh. However, the blow did not come. The bandit made a strange gasping noise and Rhys opened his eyes. The bandit stood—his eyes wide with surprise—with a single arrow piercing his chest.

He fell to the ground with a dull thud. Rhys looked around the clearing for the source of the arrow. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Rhys saw movement. He turned around to see the man he had healed propped up on his elbow, holding a bow. Rhys watched in shock as the man looked at him for a few seconds before collapsing into unconsciousness, the bow still in his hand. Rhys adjusted his position nervously, trying to stop the blood from leaking through his fingers. Then, more noises in the forest.

"Rhys?" A loud voice called.

Recognizing the voice immediately as Oscar's, Rhys sighed gratefully and carefully stood. The green-haired horseman wasn't alone; Soren walked silently just behind Oscar, scanning the area like a hawk. Soren spotted Rhys first, and said a few inaudible words to let Oscar know. The dark brown horse loped over to Rhys, and its rider looked down at him. Oscar's constant squint had often annoyed Rhys; though he never told anyone.

"Thank the goddess you're here!" Rhys said.

"What happened?" Soren asked, noticing Rhys' bloodied robes. He walked over quickly, his long black hair shifted slightly with each movement. He pulled a piece of fabric from his dark robe and wrapped it skillfully around Rhys' arm.

"We saw a bandit come this way." Oscar said, "Michiah had mentioned you had come to the river, so we decided to come and check on you."

"You were just a bit too late," Rhys said, motioning towards the dead bandit.

"What were you doing out here all by yourself?" Soren asked, now letting his red eyes settle on Rhys. Soren's eyes were always so cold, despite their warm color.

"I saw a flash of light," Rhys answered, "and I came to see what it was." Rhys decided that it was best to leave out the strange force encouraging him to this place.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Oscar asked, concerned

"I could have been worse." Rhys explained, "The man I found on the beach saved my life; he shot the bandit before he could kill me."

Soren's eyes flicked to the river briefly before resting on Rhys again. Rhys wanted to squirm; Soren's gaze was so unsettling.

"Where is he?" Oscar asked, freeing Rhys from the red glare.

Rhys nodded towards the rock where he had been hiding. Oscar looked down at Soren and nodded. Soren pulled out his dark green tome and Oscar took his lance and dismounted his horse. Both set out carefully towards the spot where Rhys had indicated. He knew that they were only being careful; weary of the man's intentions. Yet, Rhys knew that the unconscious man meant no harm to them, so he followed closely to keep them from hurting his savior.

"Are you sure that he is alive?" Soren asked, kneeling down. His long, black robes took a moment to settle after the sudden movement.

"Yes."

"How bad is he?" Oscar asked, lowering his lance.

"Too bad for us to leave him here." Rhys answered worriedly, "If he stays, he will surely die by nightfall."

"You want us to bring an unknown man into our camp?" Soren asked skeptically.

"Well," Rhys said hesitantly, "yes."

"Are you aware of the risk we would be taking?" Soren asked, standing to look at Rhys, "we do not know this man's origins, his affiliations, nothing! To bring him with us is more danger than it's worth."

Soren's deep gaze petrified Rhys and he stood stuttering for a few seconds before Oscar spoke.

"Soren, this man saved Rhys' life!" he asked looking down at Rhys.

Rhys broke free from Soren's gaze to look at the man at their feet. Soren looked down too.

"We do not know who he is." Soren said, his voice shaking slightly, "We know neither where he comes from, nor where his loyalties lie."

Oscar sighed. "We aren't in war anymore Soren. The only people we fight now are bandits. We don't need to know where they come from, or where their loyalties lie. Do you know why? Because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because we aren't fighting a country; we are fighting the trash of our society. Think about it, Soren; would one of those monsters preserve a life?"

"We weren't fighting a country then either..." Soren muttered under his breath, to quiet for the knight or bishop to hear. "He could have been aiming for Rhys and missed." Soren said loud enough for the other tow men to hear him.

"You know that is not true."

"He has other weapons." Soren mumbled, knowing that he had lost.

"We can remove them before we get to camp." Oscar said.

Soren sighed and walked back into the woods. Oscar shook his head before handing his lance to Rhys and picking up the limp body of the man. Rhys followed as Oscar carried the man to his horse and carefully draped him above the saddle so he was laying face-down along the horse's neck. Oscar climbed on behind him and Rhys returned the heavy lance and followed as best he could as Oscar trotted through the forest.

The crackling of fire and clash of metal had faded away into nothingness and the battlefield sat as an ugly reminder of the bandit's stay at the small village. Rhys ignored the carnage around him, and rather dwelled on the fact that he had saved a life. However, none of the mercenaries trudging back to camp that day realized what a good decision that had been.

_Look at that! Nearly six pages! My goodness! I hope you enjoyed this! Don't forget to review, even if you didn't like it!_


	4. Land Beyond the Desert

Chapter 4:

_Once again, this is a crossover between Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn and Twilight Princess, and follows none of the plots, so Ike is still in Tellius. Anyway, enjoy chapter 4!_

Chapter 4: Land Beyond the Desert

At first, nothing but darkness. But slowly, gradually, light began to sprinkle itself around Link like a soft snow. Large objects became visible, colors more vibrant. Gradually, the small, tan tent Link was housed in came into focus. Link blinked once, twice before scanning the area carefully. The first thing he noticed was a young man with his back to him. The young man sat, holding a knife that shone slightly in the tent, running his fingers along the edge, feeling its sharpness. The dark green of his vest matched the young man's wild green hair sitting messily upon his head.

Link started to sit up, and the man turned suddenly around and pressed him back down. Link, just gaining consciousness, was startled. He sat as the man scowled and burned his golden eyes into him.

"Don't move." the man said.

The hand pressed to Link's chest made it hard to breathe; he instinctively attempted to pull the man's hand off. However, Link noticed that his hands were tied down to the bed he was laying on. Noticing Link's attempt to rise, the man slid his silver knife against Link's throat.

"I do not care what Rhys said." the man said, pressing the blade as hard as he could without breaking Link's skin, "I don't trust you. I don't believe that you saved Rhys; you were aiming for him. I know it."

The tent's flap-like door opened and two more men stepped in. One of them had long, black hair; the other looked about Link's age and had air of authority about him.

"Sothe! Get off of him!" the man apparently in charge yelled.

Sothe ignored him. "They will trust you." he pulled his knife up until it rested just beneath Link's chin. "But if you hurt anyone—I mean _anyone _in _any_ way—I will personally hunt you down and cut out your throat. Do you understand?"

Link was still stunned.

"Sothe! I said get off him!" the general said, pulling Sothe off of Link.

Sothe—taking a moment to regain his balance—nearly fell to the dirt floor but managed to catch himself and stood glaring at Link.

"What is wrong with you?" the general said, forcing Sothe to pull his eyes from Link to look at his commander.

They had a quick, whispered discussion before Sothe slipped quietly from the tent.

The general stepped over to Link and carefully cut the ropes holding his wrists from his bed, mumbling something to himself as he tossed them aside. Finally free from his binds, Link sat up carefully.

"I apologize for him." the general said, nodding towards the door, his blue hair kept out of his eyes by a long, green sash tied around his forehead. "It's his job not to trust anyone."

The smaller man hovered behind the general, keeping a weary eye on Link.

"We've all been on edge since the war..." the general whispered, "But, I'm sure you would like to know where you are, and who we are."

Link nodded slightly.

"First, I would like to ask your name." Ike said.

Link gave his name.

"Link, I am Ike, commander of this group of mercenaries. This," Ike said, motioning to his dark-haired partner, "is Soren. He has a smart mind—and tongue."

Soren's gaze did not flicker as Ike continued his explanation. "We are in the northeastern most regions of the country of Daein."

"Daein?" Link asked, puzzled; he had never heard of a country known as Daein.

Ike nodded. "North of Begnion, east of Crimea."

Link continued to stare. He had heard of none of these countries. Where was he?

"Where are you from?" Ike asked, also puzzled.

"The Kingdom of Hyrule." Link said, still thinking.

"There are no places known as Hyrule." Soren said flatly.

Ike cast Soren an annoyed glance before continuing. "How did you get here?"

Then, suddenly, all of Link's memories rushed back to him; the black knight, him falling into the river, and Zelda's death. It all hit Link like a ton of bricks; he buried his face in his hands and tried desperately to remove the image of Zelda's broken body before him.

"He killed her!" Link suddenly yelled, "It was all that damn knight's fault!"

"Knight?" Ike asked, "What knight?"

"The knight in ebon armor!"

Ike felt his heart jump into his throat.

"I tried to stop him. But he was too strong! Dammit!"

"How did you get here?" Soren shouted, pulling Link's hands from his face violently.

"He knocked me into the river." Link answered.

"The River of Death?" Ike asked, trying to ignore the fast beating of his heart.

"The Zora's river." Link said, calm now.

"Does this 'Zora's River' run though the Desert of Death?" Soren asked, releasing Link's hands.

Link nodded slowly.

"I didn't know there was anything beyond the desert." Ike said skeptically.

"Nor did I." Soren said, back to staring intently at Link.

"We always knew that there were lands across the desert." Link added, "But no one had gone to them and returned alive."

"What was Zelgius thinking, crossing the desert?" Ike wondered.

"Zelgius? Is that the name of that murderer?" Link asked.

Ike nodded. A chilling silence filled the air.

"I must get back to Hyrule as soon as possible." Link said suddenly

"Why?" Soren asked.

"That Zelgius, he killed the queen." Link said softly.

"The queen of your kingdom?" Soren's eyes jumped to Ike for a flash before he closed them.

"I do not know what his intentions are, but for him to go as far as to assassinate Zel-" Link couldn't finish, Zelda's name caught in his throat.

He didn't need to; the others knew what he was trying to say.

"The situation is dire, I understand that," Soren said, opening his blood-red eyes to look at Link, "However, there is no way to return you to your country. Crossing the desert is not an option; it is suicide to venture through it."

"What about sailing around the desert from the southern tip of Begnion?" Ike asked.

"Many have tried it, all of failed." Soren said sharply.

Silence pervaded the air as the three man thought.

"Wouldn't Volug know a safe way through the desert?" Ike asked.

"I am not sure." Soren replied, thinking.

Before the discussion could continue, Rhys stepped carefully inside the tent. He nodded towards Ike and Soren and walked over to Link's bed.

"I will find Volug and ask him if he knows a safe passage through the desert." Soren said, taking his leave, Ike followed him.

Rhys stood over Link, examining his now healed hands.

"You were the one who found me right?" Link asked.

Rhys smiled warmly and nodded.

"How is your arm?" Link asked, noticing the bandage on Rhys' forearm.

"It's healing nicely." Rhys answered, "I must thank you, if you hadn't been there, I would have more than a cut to deal with!"

Link smiled as Rhys continued to examine the progress of Link's healing.

"It looks like you are completely healed!" Rhys said once he was finished.

"Does that mean that I can get out of this bed now?" Link asked.

"If you feel like you are ready, then go ahead!" Rhys walked slowly from the tent.

Link carefully stood and stretched, noticing his equipment in a small pile on the other side of the tent. He walked over carefully to examine it; his legs were still a little shaky from being bed-ridden for so long, but Link made it to his satchel without too much trouble. Link was a little surprised that the bag had stayed with him the entire trip down the river. He opened his bag and began to empty its now dry contents. Link noticed his bow lying nearby and lifted it up gently before placing it to his right; His bow was fine; he found that out the day he had washed up. Link frowned as he noticed that both of his clawshots were so rusted, the chain didn't extend at all. Link had left the rest of his weapons at the castle, not bothering to bring the ball and chain or Dominion rod. Underneath his rusted tools, Link noticed his wallet which jingled cheerily as he lifted it up. Link smiled as he noticed his bottles, which, by some miracle, had managed to stay intact; the fairies floated lazily in the four bottles. The fairies were nothing more than bright orbs of light with butterfly-like wings. The color they shone greatly depended on their mood. Currently, all of the small balls of light were glowing a calm, white color.

Link placed these next to his bow and frowned noticing his shield was here, but his scabbard was missing its sword. Carefully standing and slipping his wallet into his pocket, Link decided to look around for a replacement. If this truly was a mercenary camp, there was sure to be a nearby caravan to buy a new sword from. Link stepped out of the tent only to be greeted with another blade hovering at his throat.

_For those wondering why Sothe was in the tent to begin with, here is an explanation. Link had been unconscious for a few days, and they wanted to make sure that someone was there just incase he woke up and he wasn't friendly. They had some of their more capable fighters sitting in with Link. Sothe lost almost all trust of everyone during the war preceding these events, and just so happens to be there when Link wakes up! _

_Also, if I made it hard do tell, the furthermost regions of the Gerudo Desert is known as the Desert of Death and directly connected to Daein's Desert of Death (after miles and miles of sand of course!)._

_Thanks to __Adriannu255__ for pointing out some errors in chapter 3! Don't forget to review peoples!_


	5. Uneasy Alliance

Zelguis sat quietly as the shadows rushed closer

_Alright, I'm going back to Zelgius now. I also introduce an OC. Probably the only one in this story. His name was originally Selth, but that looked odd to me, so I added an a. But it is still pronounced the same way._

Chapter 5: Uneasy Alliance

Sealth paced uneasily across the throne room of Hyrule castle. _She should have been back by now._ He ran his fingers through his dark green hair, trying to vent his nervousness. Nearly an hour had passed since the queen left to see her husband off. Sealth walked over to a nearby window and looked out, his weary navy eyes surveying the town below him. The torches of Castle town had been lit, and the late night shoppers wandered listlessly in their orange glow. Sealth sighed and turned away from the window. He had a horrible feeling in his gut; something had happened. But he could just be overreacting. _She's been gone for an hour._ He could look for Zelda, but he it was best if he did not leave the castle. He could order guards to search for her, but the soldiers haven't listened to him in years. Sealth cried out in frustration and one of the guards turned to him.

"Something wrong sir?" the guard called out

Sealth stopped his pacing to eye the man carefully. "The queen has yet to return."

"Do you think something has happened?" the sentry asked.

Sealth nodded, annoyed. The guard lowered his lance and motioned for the other guard to follow him over to Sealth.

"I've felt the same way, sir." the first guard said.

"Would you like us to search for her?" the second inquired.

"Would you dare follow an order given by me?" Sealth asked impatiently.

The guards looked at each other briefly before the first one answered, "Yes, sir."

Sealth looked at them skeptically. He had not been able to get a soldier to follow his orders since... "Gather your men and find search the castle grounds." Sealth said.

The two soldiers nodded and ran out of the throne room. Sealth sighed and resumed his pacing, praying that he would not betray the men's trust like he had last time.

Sealth was the former general of the Hylian army. He had resigned after a terrible tragedy more than fifteen years ago. Sealth had been the most respected generals of all the known kingdoms, renowned for his fighting prowess and clever battle plans. Sealth's decline began when the army had been sent to the neighboring country of Termina, which had just suffered from a civil war. The Hylian army was to help the citizens rebuild from the destruction they had suffered.

Sealth's unit was stationed in the capital of the area, Clock Town and had just arrived to help rebuild the great clock in the center of town when the village was assaulted by a group of survivors from the attacking party during the civil war. Sealth ordered the villagers to hide inside the half-built clock while he and his soldiers fought the uprising outside. However, the small group of rebels was much stronger than Sealth had expected, and he soon had his men pull back into the clock. Sealth did not realize, however, that there was only one entry to the clock, and the rebels were blocking it. The rebels planted bombs outside the great tower. Sealth noticed this too late—the bombs detonated, and the great tower collapsed, killing all but a few residents and soldiers. Even the rebels—underestimating the power of their explosives—lost their lives to the blast. Sealth managed to escape from the building unscathed and the surviving soldiers took this as Sealth leaving his men to die in the forsaken tower.

The news that Sealth had killed the best of the Hylian army quickly reached Hyrule where the tale was twisted and warped far beyond recognition. It was said that Sealth had sided with the rebels, and purposely locked his men and the townspeople inside the doomed tower to die. Everyone seemed to believe it, his new unit refused to obey his orders in fear that Sealth would send them to their deaths. Sealth felt great remorse for leaving his men behind to die, and the fact that soldiers feared that he would kill them if under his command made things worse. He quietly stepped down from his position as general and went to live a life of seclusion. On his exit of the castle, one of the men who had survived the explosion attacked an unarmed Sealth, nearly killing him. This event took place soon after Zelda's coronation, and she ordered Sealth to live in the safety of the castle as second to her and the king. The soldiers there feared Sealth too much to be a threat.

Recalling these events added to Sealth's unease. He decided to see how the search was going. He had just exited the throne room when he was met by a guard who avoided Sealth's gaze.

"Did you find her?" Sealth asked quickly.

The guard nodded slowly, still keeping his head down.

"Where is she?" Sealth yelled impatiently.

The guard turned his head away and Sealth took a step forward.

"What happened? Where is the queen? Where is Zelda?" Deep down, Sealth knew the answer. He had known it the entire time, but he still couldn't believe it. "Where is she?" Sealth asked, defeated.

The guard raised an arm and pointed, still looking away. Sealth heart dropped like a rock when he saw two guards carrying the still body of the queen. He took a step towards them, stopped, fell to his knees and lowered his head to the ground. She couldn't be dead; Zelda couldn't be gone, Link never would have let it happen. Sealth looked up when he remembered the king. If the two had been attacked, then Link would not have left.

"He wasn't with her." The soldier said, as if reading Sealth's mind. "But we found this near the edge overlooking the river."

Sealth looked up and saw the guard holding a naked sword. Sealth stood and examined the blade slowly. No doubt it was Link's; the handle was carved with intricate patterns and the long, thick sword was light as a feather. Link never went anywhere without his blade, he never would have dropped it. Unless...Sealth took the sword and plunged in angrily into the ground. Both of them, gone. It couldn't be possible. Both the king and queen had been the closest thing to family he had had since he left his hometown of Kakariko. To lose them was like losing his children. Sealth's eyes began to burn. He couldn't cry. Not here. The soldiers must never see their commander weep—even if their commander was a failure.

"Sir?" another guard had stepped up to Sealth. "We found another man with her" the guard looked away as the other soldiers walked by; carrying Zelda's corpse "He tells us he witnessed the assassination. He suffered injuries during the fight, but they say he is fit enough to speak to."

Sealth looked down at Link's blade one more time before motioning for the soldier to lead him to the survivor. The guard brought Sealth to the nearby infirmary, a relatively small building on the outskirts of the castle grounds. It was a small fort sprawled on the edge of the cliff overlooking Lake Hylia. Inside, the infirmary was much larger than it appeared on the outside with a wide hallway lined with empty beds. A large man with blue hair and green eyes lay on the only occupied cot in the room. Sealth walked over to him quickly. Sealth walked over quickly and sat himself next to the bed as the man opened his eyes wearily.

"Who are you?" Sealth asked quickly, eager to learn how and why this man had survived an attack that killed the queen—and likely king—of Hyrule.

"My name," the man said softly, "is Zelgius."

"Where are you from Zelgius?"

"A land far to the west of here, beyond the desert." Zelgius answered.

"You lie." Sealth said quickly. "No one from the lands beyond has crossed the desert alive. If they have, they have made no effort to contact us" Sealth noticed a glimmer of surprise in Zelgius' eyes at this. "How did you survive the trip?"

"I came through a system of caves running through the desert."

Something about Zelgius seemed off to Sealth, but he couldn't tell what. Perhaps the way he spoke so softly or maybe the way his eyes were constantly flickering around the room. Sealth watched the man carefully as he continued.

"How did you come to witness our queen's death?" Sealth asked slowly, forcing the words past his tongue.

"I was riding through the woods when I saw a group of people heading this way. I recognized them, and knew of their intentions. I followed them in an attempt to stop your queen's assassination."

Sealth had the same bad feeling he had had before but still couldn't pinpoint what was so strange about the man.

"Was there another fighting against these people?" Sealth asked impatiently.

"There was another man. He was knocked unconscious and thrown off the nearby cliff."

Sealth's fears were confirmed. He had been clinging to a small hope that Link had somehow gotten away and survived. Sealth let his head droop.

"You said you knew these people. How?"

"They come from the same place as me." Zelgius said softly. "They were the ones who forced me from my land." Zelgius paused to look intently at Sealth. "I know the name of the one who killed your queen."

Sealth was standing now, watching Zelgius' every move, every breath, and every blink of his eyes.

"His name," Zelgius paused again. "is Ike."

Sealth mouthed the name silently, not taking his eyes off of his informant.

"It was Ike and his band of murderers who killed your queen." Zelgius said, his voice shivering slightly with anger. "They were sent by the leaders of the countries of Tellius to kill your queen and take your land." Zelgius said quickly.

"What?"

"The first part of their plan is complete; it won't be long before the combined forces of all of Tellius are at your doorstep."

All signs of Zelgius' weakness had disappeared. Sealth didn't notice—he had lost his concentration at the knowledge that the kingdom may be in danger. He wouldn't take a chance on not believing the man.

"How do you know this?"

"I was once the general of Begnion's central army. I was banished because I refused the idea of attacking another country for its resources." Zelgius was sitting up now, watching Sealth as intently as Sealth had watched him.

"Would they come through the caves, as you did?"

"It is very likely."

Sealth closed his eyes and ran his hands though his hair. He couldn't possibly command an army again. He had promised that to himself years ago. But the people who had killed the queen were after the kingdom; all of Hyrule was in danger!

"How large are these caves?" Sealth asked, keeping his eyes closed.

"Relatively small; perhaps wide enough for two horses to ride side-by-side." Zelgius answered.

A smile grew across Zelgius' face; everything was going just as he had planned and he would soon get his revenge.

"It would be best to attack them as they exited the caves. Only a few could come out at a time, and we would easily outnumber them." Sealth said, mostly to himself.

Zelgius' smile vanished. He had not planned on having the second in command to the queen to be a tactician. This would make things harder than he had expected.

"An excellent idea. If you don't mind me asking, have you had military experience?" Zelgius asked carefully.

Sealth opened his eyes slowly. "I was once the general of the Hylian army."

"Once?"

"I stepped down."

"May I ask why?"

"No, you may not." Sealth answered quickly. "Are you positive that this land—Tellius you called it? Are you sure that it means harm upon us?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I am positive. All of the inhabitants are bloodthirsty tyrants who want nothing more than to fill their pockets—no matter the price."

Sealth sighed and stood. "How long until they depart?"

"I am not sure. It would be best to deploy a unit to monitor the caves as soon as possible."

Sealth grimaced. He did not like following others plans, but he knew that it was the best course of action.

"I will begin preparations. Once you have completely healed, you will show us the location of these caves and we shall set out to wait for any intruder trying to make his way into our land." with this, Sealth left the infirmary. He still did not trust Zelgius completely, but he was the only one who knew the location of these caves that posed such a threat. Sealth motioned for the two guards inside to follow him out and ordered them to guard the door outside. It was strange to have men follow his orders again, but Sealth refused to get used to it. _They are just in a state of shock. _Sealth thought to himself._ They are following me because they don't know what else to do._

Once the infirmary was empty, Zelgius released the laugh that had built itself up inside him. Despite several small setbacks, his plan was going far better than he had expected! Soon, all of the necessary pieces would fall into place, and Zelgius would have his revenge.

_There you go! Nearly 5 ½ pages. Next chapter will be back with Link. _

_I might start making updates depending on the amount of reviews I receive. _

_Anyway, thank you __Adriannu255__! I don't know how to describe how you helped, but you know what you did!_


	6. Ruby or Sapphire?

Link froze, knowing that any sudden movement could end his life

_Seeing as someone finally brought it up, this story is a crossover of Twilight Princess, Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, but does not contain many plot details from any of the games. The plot will only be vaguely referenced if a character happens to be talking about his past, but other than that, the stories of the games have little to no effect in my story. _

_This chapter picks up right where chapter 4 left off. I mean right after. _

Chapter 6: Ruby or Sapphire?

Link froze, knowing that any sudden movement could end his life. He had already experienced one murderous person in this camp, and he was sure that the woman pointing her sword at him was another. He eyed the woman gripping the blade carefully. Her long violet hair lay messily on her head, held back by a white headband and her bright green eyes looked up at him inquisitively. The woman slowly pulled her lethal point from Link's throat and carefully slid it into its sheath tied to her waist. She cocked her head slightly and continued her wide-eyed gaze.

"Sorry 'bout that." she said after a long pause. "You just surprised me."

The woman's big green eyes still had Link caught in a trance. She leaned over and—standing on one foot—waved her arms widely.

"Hello there?"

Link shook his head slightly. "Please excuse my rudeness." he said quickly. "My mind is elsewhere."

The woman stood strait, not taking her great green eyes off of Link. She studied him carefully before leaning back, closing her eyes, smiling and throwing her hand in Link's direction.

"I'm Mia!" she said brightly.

Link took the hand with a warm smile. "Link."

"Link, huh? You're the one the found by the river right?" the woman said as she shook Link's hand gently.

Link released Mia's hand and nodded.

"I heard Soren say you came from the other side of the desert." Mia said, twirling her hair around her finger. "Is that true?"

Link nodded again. Mia sighed.

"That means you don't know where anything is! Can I show you around the camp?" Mia asked excitedly.

Link shrugged. Mia suddenly seized Link's wrist and dashed off, only releasing the Hylian once he could finally maintain her pace. She weaved in and out of the wandering soldiers pointing out the infirmary, mess hall, and lavatories. In the distance, Link could see a thick forest surrounding the great sprawling camp like a green shield. Several puffy clouds floated innocently in the sky as Link tried to keep up with the speeding red blur leading him. As he walked through the camp, he saw several soldiers carrying, polishing or sharpening strange weapons like he had never seen before. He hoped to start out with a type of blade he was familiar with before experimenting with more abstract designs. She finally led Link to his original destination; the small shop set up in the outskirts of the forest of tents.

Mia led Link inside. Several crates had been lined up to create a makeshift countertop. A woman sat on the other side, examining her nails carefully. Her flowing black hair was covered by a thin pink shawl that was draped over most of her body. She looked up at the sound of customers entering her tent, standing with a smile when she saw Link.

"Well hello there cutie! Haven't seen you around here before! New recruit?" the woman asked, stepping very close to Link.

"In a way." Link said, taking a step back from the woman.

"Well then sweetheart, what 'cha looking for, hmm? A new weapon, or perhaps something a bit more…interesting?" she asked taking a step closer to Link.

Mia sighed and pulled the woman off of Link.

"Give him a break will you, Aimee? Poor guy's had a rough time." Mia said sharply.

"Ooh, do I detect a hint of jealousy miss?" Aimee said, smiling wickedly.

Mia threw her a warning glare as she fingered the hilt of her sword.

"Now, now, don't make a spectacle." Aimee laughed and took her seat behind the crates once again. Mia walked forward and Link followed.

"So, what would you like, sir?" Aimee asked.

Link cast a glance at Mia before answering. "I'm looking for a sword."

"Oh, a sword? I have lots of those. What kind would you like?"

"Just plain steel." Link said.

Aimee seemed disappointed at Link's request, but after seeing Mia tap her hilt warningly again, Aimee stood.

"Is that all?" she asked, forcing a smile.

Link nodded and Aimee wandered back behind a fold of canvas. She returned several seconds later holding a plain sheathed sword and placed it down on the table. Link reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a handful of the only money he had—rupees. When he held out what to him was worth 250 rupees, Aimee suddenly jumped up.

"Where did you get these?" she asked carefully taking a green jewel from Link's hands.

"It is the currency where I come from." Link stated simply.

"Gems like this are so rare; even _I _rarely get my hands on a treasure so fine!" Aimee said, examining the rupee closely.

Even Mia stepped closer to look at the small jewels in Link's hand. She leaned over Link's shoulder as she carefully lifted a red gem and held it up to the light. The whole time, Link stood with his hand open so both women could admire the small jewels.

"I will trade you!" Aimee said, noticing Mia rubbing her rupee on the side of her red shirt. "I will trade the sword to you for—" she looked down at the remaining money in Link's hand and lifted four more green and a blue gems. "For five emeralds and a sapphire!"

Link, knowing the monetary value—for him at least—of Aimee's request was shocked.

"Well?" Aimee asked impatiently.

"Deal." Link said, quickly closing his hand and depositing the remaining 220 rupees back into his wallet.

Aimee gently set the money down on the crates and admired them contently. Link lifted his new sword and turned to leave walking past a still mesmerized Mia who was still twisting the red rupee in the fading light of the sun. Link tapped her gently o the soldier to break her from the same trance her eyes had had him in hours before. She followed Link outside distractedly, bumping into several crates on her way out as she left. Mia stumbled out of the tent with an annoyed Aimee squawking at her angrily. She muttered something under her breath before returning to the endlessly enjoyable task of admiring the small stone in her hand.

"How rich are you, huh? Look how much you paid for such a dingy scrap of metal!" Mia said, turning the ruby so a deep red light was cast on her soft face.

"It really wasn't that much." Link said.

Mia ran a few steps ahead of Link and walked backwards in front of him.

"Maybe to you! But what you paid her was worth a king's fortune in gold!"

Link shrugged. "If I didn't lose any money down the river, I have a hundred times what I paid her left over."

Mia stopped. "_A hundred?_" she gasped, momentarily forgetting the precious gem.

Link nodded. By this time, they had reached Link's tent and Mia quickly opened the canvas flap allowing Link to step inside and sit on his bed to examine his new sword carefully. After a quick good-night, Mia turned to leave but remembered the small ruby in her hand and turned back inside.

"Wait! I forgot to give this back!" she said, stepping halfway inside the canvas wall.

Link looked up. "Keep it." he said, looking back down at his new sword.

"What?" Mia stood, her outreached hand holding the small gem. "But this is worth a fortune!"

"If you need a reason, think of it as payment for showing me around and for saving me from that merchant woman."

When Link looked back up and Mia was still standing there, he sighed and walked over. Mia held out her open hand containing the red rupee to Link as he reached out. However, instead of reclaiming his treasure, Link took the young woman's hand and wrapped it carefully around the jewel.

"Keep it."

Mia stood frozen for a moment relishing the feeling of her smaller hand being warmed by Link's slightly larger. When she looked up at the man, Mia could not decide which she loved more, the two sapphires shining down on her, or the small ruby in her hand. Mia turned her head to hide her blush and quickly exited the tent and with a quick thank-you, she ran beneath the twinkling stars above to her own tent to put her precious gift away safely.

_Dialogue is by far my weakest point, but almost all of the next few chapters are talking! I am sorry if what the characters say is a little—odd._

_I noticed something the other day; so far, almost all the locations of my chapters are in a clearing surrounded by trees. _

_Anyway, for those who care, when I post the next chapter, I'm going to change it to Fire Emblem, the one after that will be back to Zelda. I will continue like this for a while. Please review! More reviews motivate me to update sooner! Really!_


	7. Transformation

As the flap of his tent fell closed, link could not help but smile

_Alright then! Here is Chapter 7! I have come to realize that in Radiant Dawn, Volug barely a sentence that one can understand. This makes it hard to write dialogue for him. Fortunately, thanks to a very nice and helpful reviewer, I have come across a translation of Volug's speech, making it much easier to write dialogue for him. Thanks, BeckyLynn! _

_Anyway, I must also thank my new Beta-reader, Bizz-Chan for fixing any errors and what-not in this chapter, and earlier chapters. _

Chapter 7: Transformation

As the flap of his tent fell closed, Link could not help but smile. Mia was a strange woman, yet Link could not help but be attracted to her. Link sighed as he remembered Zelda. She would have wanted him to move on, but Link couldn't help but feel guilty. Link also remembered Sealth whom Link always admired when he was nothing more than a farm boy. When Link moved into the castle, Sealth warmed up to him right away, helping Link to improve his fighting skills in every way- not to mention giving very helpful advice. Link hoped that Sealth was all right; he wasn't sure if his mentor even stood a chance against Zelguis.

Link sighed again and set his sword next to his cot, and had just begun to sit down when he heard shouting outside. Before Link had time to wonder what was going on, Mia rushed inside the tent. Link noticed that she had wrapped part of her rupee in string and had it hanging around her neck. She was panting as she was tying her headband around the top of her hair.

"Link, something's happened!" the girl said breathlessly. "Rolf is missing!" Seeing Link's blank look, Mia sighed and came further inside the tent, still struggling with her hair. "Boyd and Oscar's brother?" No response. "The little boy with green hair!" Mia shouted, releasing her frustration at the piece of fabric.

Mia sighed and took a deep breath before sitting on the bed beside Link and continuing her explanation. "Anyway, Rolf went into the woods a few hours ago, and hasn't come back yet. Oscar went to look for him and instead found a note from the surviving bandits that had been attacking that village. They're threatening to kill Rolf if we don't hand over all of our supplies and money." Mia said, finally winning her battle with the hair band.

"Do you need my help?" Link asked.

"We need all the help we can get. We don't actually know where the bandits are, but their deadline is dawn, so we have to find them before then." Mia said, standing again.

Link strapped his sword to his back and followed Mia to the edge of the camp where a large crown had gathered. Ike was standing on a small boulder above the group with Soren standing next to him, along with a small woman with flowing silver hair and a strange man with dark, wild hair and tattoos along his bare arms and chest. He had a pair of wolf-like ears poking off of his head and a long, bushy tail waving gently behind him. Mia led Link up to the rock where Ike and the strange wolf-man were talking.

"Were you able to find Lethe or Mordecai?" Ike asked.

The wolf shook his head and whispered something. "He says they're out hunting and it would take too long to go and find them." the woman translated.

Ike noticed Link approaching and turned to greet him. "Thank you for helping, we need as many people as we can get." The wolf-man took a step forward. "Link, this is Volug." Ike said motioning to the man. "He is going to help us find Rolf by following his scent."

Ike nodded and Volug growled faintly. Fur spread across his body from Volug's head and tail as he slid gracefully onto four legs, melting into the sleek limbs of a wolf. Volug shook himself gently to loosen his fur once the transformation was complete. Link did not know it, but everyone present was watching Link carefully, wanting to see how he reacted to a Laguz transformation. They never expected Link to smile slightly as his tunic spread across his body and sprouted black fur. Link sprouted a tail, his face grew into a long snout and ears unfolded from the top of his head as Link sank to the ground. Link rose and shook himself gently just as Volug had when his transformation was complete and sat. Link's black and white wolf form was much smaller than Volug's brown and tan one. Volug loped slowly over to Link and sniffed him curiously. Mia walked up behind him and reached out nervously.

"Link, is...is that you?" she asked, hesitantly resting her hand on Link's head.

Soren leaned over and whispered something to Ike, "I did not know he was a Laguz."

Link's canine ears were able to hear what he had said as if he had been speaking to him directly. Link wondered what a Laguz was; even though he was sure it wasn't anything terrible, he was still curious. Looking past the main group of people, Link noticed two dark forms in the distance. With his highly sensitive eyesight, Link could make out the two shadows easily. The taller of the two was sitting droopily on a tree stump while the other was kneeling beside him. Both men had short, green hair, but the kneeling one's was much darker than his brother's. Link could just make out snipped of their whispered conversation through the mumbling crowd surrounding him.

"...never let him...too dangerous...should have..." the older brother said softly, his dark green armor reflecting the moonlight in the darkness.

The younger carefully rested his hand on his brother's shaking shoulder. "...be fine...Rolf... stronger than you think...

The darker haired one had little armor protecting his body, save for a small plate for each shoulder. The dark brown band pushing the hair from his eyes appeared black in the dim light and cleverly hid his shining eyes. The older brother looked up slowly, a defeated look in his eyes. He slowly pulled himself off the stump and began to make his way to the large group waiting for them. Link noticed that he was shaking slightly as he carefully pulled a piece of dark green fabric from a small bag at his side. The two brothers carefully walked up to the group, apparently surprised to find two wolves instead of the expected one.

"Can you track?" Oscar asked softly.

Boyd stood behind his older brother with his arms crossed, looking in the nearby forest.

Link nodded his head and followed Volug over to the Oscar.

"Here," He said, holding out a piece of fabric.

Volug and Link took turns inhaling the scent. As Link sniffed, he could picture the boy it belonged to—small, with short green hair like his brothers. Link walked away and began searching for the scent while Volug did the same both going in separate directions to cover more ground. There were many smells in this camp, from many people. It was difficult to sift through all of them to find the one he was looking for. After wandering aimlessly through the camp, Link caught hold of Rolf's scent near the outskirts of the forest. He barked loudly to alert the others, and afterwards waited patiently for the small army to reach him. Volug ran up and Link began running alongside him, both with their noses pressed to the ground, following the missing boy's trail. As they wound their way through a rough path through the green of the dense forest surrounding them, the branches reached out and brushed against their bodies, as if to make sure that they were real.

"You have experience." Volug growled beside Link.

Link wagged his tail slightly in response. "How can you tell?"

"Mmm. I've been practicing near my whole life and still have a little trouble following Beorc scents"

"Beorc?" Another word Link did not recognize.

Volug paused for a moment. "Michiah mentioned that you were the one who washed up a few days ago. Where did you come from?"

"A land from across the desert." Link responded simply.

Volug paused again. "Really? I come from a country near the edge of the desert. That didn't really answer your question did it? A Beorc is the respectful term we use to refer to humans."

The two wolves ran in silence for a few minutes before stopping to allow their followers to catch up.

"You do not smell like a Laguz." Volug growled.

There was that word again. "I am unsure as to what a Laguz is..." Link panted.

Volug looked at him and walked over slowly. "One who is blessed with the ability to shift into the form of a beast."

"My power is not a blessing, it is a curse."

"You believe you power is a curse?" Volug barked angrily, leaping on top of Link.

Link sank low to the ground quickly. "No, I was locked into this form as a curse. I have since gained the ability to transform at will." Link whined submissively, not about to challenge the larger animal to a fight.

"Mmm. Very well" Volug growled quietly, walking away slowly.

Link pulled himself up slowly as Volug sat down several feet away. Soon after that, everyone caught up with the wolves, and Link and Volug continued to track Rolf. Suddenly, both dogs came to a sudden halt and Ike—who was right behind them when it happened—nearly tripped over Link.

"What is it?" he asked, quickly regaining his balance.

"The trail splits." Volug growled loudly.

Ike turned to a man behind him. He was wearing long, flowing white robes that matched the great white feathered wings behind him and long blonde hair that shone in the moonlight.

"Rafiel, what did he say?"

Rafiel stepped forward slowly. "He says the trail splits in two here."

"What do you mean, 'splits'?" Ike asked, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"He says that both trails smell of the boy and others." Rafiel said in a smooth, calm voice.

"We have not enough time to follow both trails." Soren said. "We will have to divide our forces in two."

Ike sighed again. "I would prefer not to—especially not in the dark."

"What other choice to we have?" an unknown voice called from behind Rafiel's white wings.

Link growled deeply when he saw that it was Sothe, the man who had threatened to kill him. Sothe looked down at Link with an even greater hatred.

"We must hurry; the sun will rise in a few hours." Soren said.

"Fine." Ike said. "Link, follow one path, Volug the other. We will split in half and follow both of them."

Ike quickly completed the task of dividing up the soldiers before motioning for the wolves to continue. Link continued along the Rolf's trail with a small growl, noticing that Sothe had been ordered to follow him. As he ran through the forest, Link realized the scent was getting stronger. When Link barked sharply and took off in a sprint, even the soldiers on horseback had trouble keeping up with the black wolf as he sped along the well worn path in the forest.

Link again came to an abrupt halt when he could smell fire in the air. He didn't need his nose to tell him that they had found the bandits; their loud shouting in cheering could be heard even by human ears. Link silently slipped back into human form while he waited for the others to catch up. Ike was the first to reach him, panting heavily as he walked up beside Link and bent over.

"You could have slowed down a little bit!" Ike gasped, looking up at Link with a smile. "You're not even worn out at all are you?"

Link smirked and shook his head before motioning for Ike to listen. The rest of the company caught up as Ike and Link listened to the nearby bandits.

"Did you find them?" Oscar asked, riding up on his horse.

"This way." Link said, pointing in the direction of the noise.

"How far?" Ike asked.

Link thought for a moment. "Less than a mile."

"Good, we'll reach them with plenty of time," Ike said, rubbing his hands together in the cold.

"Shall we continue?" Soren said, walking past Ike and Link quickly.

The two cast a glance at each other before following the dark-haired mage, reaching the bandit's camp in only a few minutes. They stood on a small ledge overlooking the camp where they could see not only the entire layout of the base, but the locations of all the rebels inside of it. In the center of the camp was a great fire, and next to it, tied up on a large pole, was Rolf.

Oscar looked down at this and gasped. He nearly went charging down the steep slope on his own, forcing several men—including his brother—to hold him back. Ike went over and pulled a shaking Oscar aside.

"Listen." Ike whispered softly, "I understand you're anxious to get down there, but you would accomplish nothing, and you know that."

Oscar said nothing, but merely stared blankly at the ground.

"Do you want to sit this out? I wouldn't have a problem if—" Ike started.

"No." Oscar said gently, "No, I...I can—I'll be fine."

Oscar stood silent for a few seconds before carefully climbing back onto his horse. Ike watched Oscar carefully for a few moments before coming back to link and Soren, who was surveying the field like a red-eyed hawk.

"What do you think?" Ike asked.

"There are more men than we had anticipated." Soren answered after a pause.

"How much more?" Ike asked slowly as he watched a bandit gnawing violently on a piece of meat.

"Hmm." Soren paused. "I would say several dozen."

"Do you think we have enough here?"

Before Soren could answer, a loud howl broke the silence and the bandits below nervously stopped their activities to listen to the night. Link recognized Volug's voice, but he couldn't understand what he was saying so he quickly changed to a wolf and howled back: "What was that?"

"I see you have found the camp as well." Volug's howl was far away.

"What is it?" Ike asked.

Link shifted enough for his human mouth to speak.

"The others have found the camp, too." Another howl broke the silence. "They are on the other side." Link translated. "What would you like them to do?"

"Tell them to wait." Ike said.

Link nodded, shifted all the way into a wolf, and howled out Ike's command. Volug answered in understanding and the forest was silent again. Link morphed back into a human and walked over to the patch of dirt where Soren was bent over, scratching symbols and lines in the dust.

"We have more than enough to handle them now." Soren muttered to himself as he cast another glance at the camp below before continuing his tracing.

"You have a plan?" Ike asked, kneeling to get a better look at the tactician's drawings.

Soren nodded as he apparently finished his quick sketch of the battlefield in the dirt. Ike motioned for Titania to come over. Once everyone was present, Soren explained his strategy in careful detail then left Link to explain the plan the other half of the army. The large group slowly and silently surrounded the small encampment, waiting patently for the signal to surge from the darkness, catching the drunken bandits off guard.

_Just the other day, I got 5 reviews in a 24 hour period, which is only odd because I hadn't updated this story for nearly a week, and it was at the bottom of the 'pile' as some call it. Anyway, I hoped you liked it! And please, if and when you review, don't just tell me that it was good, tell me how I can make it better! Please? _

_So this is the last chapter that needs revisions. I've written the second half of the next chapter, but can't seem to get a beginning that I like. I really hope to get it done soon though! I promise!_


	8. The Loss of One

_Oh my goodness! This chapter took FOREVER to get finished! I was suffering from writer's block and guilt about what happens. In the meantime, I went through and revised all of my previous chapters, adding detail and fixing those surprisingly abundant simple sentences. I added a few extra events to chapters 2 and 7 I believe, so if you want to go back and re-read them, go ahead, if not, fine by me._

_Anyway, I hope that it was worth the short wait, even if it is a bit shorter than I would like..._

Chapter 8: The Loss of One

The soldiers lay waiting in the darkness, their hands eagerly twitching on the cold steel of their weapons. The bandits continued their mindless consuming of their poisonous beverage that seemed to give them such satisfaction. Their loud laughter blocked out any sounds their attackers made as they hid in the shadowed forest. They had long ago forgotten the foreboding sounds echoing in the dangerous wood surrounding them, and instead plundered about aimlessly as cattle headed to the slaughterhouse.

A loud howl broke the silence, and before the drunken cutthroats could even gaze stupidly to the shadows surrounding them, the rescue party was on top of them. Two dark blurs rushed from the forest and nearly a dozen of the inebriated larcenists had their necks ripped open before any of their friends could lift a finger to help.

Now recovered from the initial shock of the attack, the remaining criminals were seizing their weapons and rushing forward to defend their small settlement. They surrounded the two growling wolves, confident that they would be able to rid themselves of the feral dogs with little trouble. As they slowly closed the circle around the pair of canines, the rest of the company came into view, scattering the ring in chaos. In one fluid motion, Link slipped into his Beorc form and lashed his sword from the scabbard behind his back, knocking back the wave of bandits charging at him.

The camp was relatively cramped, with the flimsy buildings lying and a sloppy, cramped grid-style pattern. In the center of the camp was a great bonfire near the tall pole holding Rolf far above the surface of the earth. Each small structure had a brightly lit torch in front of them, providing the dim light that illuminated the dirty spread of wooden stores.

All of the rescuers had been instructed to work their way in towards the center of the camp where Rolf was being held and converge there. If the leader of the bandits was killed, Ike would issue an order of retreat to the remaining criminals and give them one chance to get away with their lives. The goal was to reach Rolf as soon as possible to avoid any injury coming to the small boy. Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw Oscar race past on his brown horse with Boyd riding behind him. They disappeared quickly behind a row of houses with Oscar taking down as many bandits as he could on the way.

Link carefully sheathed his sword and turned his attention back to the group running towards him, watching their distance carefully. They ran closer and closer, eager to dig the cold iron of their blades into warm flesh. When the larcenists were within striking range, Link suddenly drew his blade and brought it crashing down on his helpless enemy. As the front line of rushing bandits fell lifelessly to the ground, the others paused for a moment, only to be cut down by a violet blur.

Link looked up to see who had finished the job for him and saw a thin man covered in thick purple leather armor turning to him. His green eyes were watching the battlefield carefully through his long, silver hair. Before Link could say anything to the strange man, he slipped silently away through a small gap between two buildings. Link shrugged lightly as he carefully stepped over the bodies of the bandits. By now, most of the tyrants had ran or been killed and Link was relatively free to make his way through the camp unhindered.

As he rounded the next row of houses, Link saw Boyd struggling with a lone bandit in the distance. Both of the men's axes were locked together in a deadly game of endurance. Even as far as he was, Link could see Boyd was tired, and had little chance of outlasting the alcohol-boosted strength of the criminal. Link ran to assist the failing axe man before he faltered. Then, when Link had only covered half the distance to Boyd, the fighter's axe spiraled behind him and his opponent weapons crashed downwards with deadly speed. Boyd attempted to dodge, but the blade was too fast for his tired body.

The axe sliced from Boyd's right shoulder to his left hip, nearly cleaving him in half. The fighter froze as blood worked its way out of his mouth, spilling onto his chin as he slowly fell first to his knees, then the cold ground. With the full momentum of his charge, Link brought his blade down with amazing force, cleanly decapitating Boyd's attacker before he could do any more damage. After making sure that the bandit no longer posed a threat, Link knelt by the motionless warrior laying face down in the earth, his axe lying by his side.

Link gently turned Boyd over, revealing the full extent of his wound. Blood was gushing freely from Boyd's split-open chest, dying his normally green leather armor a deep red and still dripping from his open mouth. Boyd's white and green eyes—the only color other than red visible his body—stared wildly at Link. Each time the poor man tried to breathe, he would only gurgle and spit out another mouthful of blood, adding to the great pool surrounding him. Link carefully reached to one of his many bags and pulled out a glowing bottle. He was not going to let the fighter die, Link refused to watch as another life slipped away. The fairy floated a pale yellow in the dim light—a sign of its fear of the battlefield that surrounded it.

Link quickly popped the bottle open, setting the fairy free. At first, the orb of florescent light hovered near Link, but sensing the greater need of another, the fairy quickly descended to the dying fighter below it, sprinkling fairy dust on all of his bleeding wounds. The sparkling fairy disappeared as Boyd turned his head and spit out one last mouthful of blood before slipping into the forgiving realm of sleep. Once he was sure all of the man's wounds were healed, Link quickly replaced the bottle in its normal pouch and helped sit Boyd up.

Though all of his wounds were healed by the magic of the fairy, Boyd had still lost much blood, something that even the magic of the frightened orb could not help with. Link gently pulled Boyd onto his back, making sure that the man had wasn't lying on his uncomfortable shield. He carefully lifted his sword and began to make his way back to find the others before Boyd succumbed to his injuries. Before he could get very far, a shout rang out across the encampment.

"Your leader is dead!" Ike's voice echoed in the night, "We will give you one chance to flee, or your life is forfeit!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw a bandit drop his weapon and run into the woods, not about to give his life for a dead man. Link shifted Boyd on his back gently and went to go back to the center of the camp where they had decided to meet. As Link ran through the bandit's camp, he listened intently to the breath of his passenger, wanting to make sure that he made it back alive. As the light resonating from the torch situated by Rolf's pole increased in intensity, Boyd's struggled breaths seemed to become less frequent.

At last, the small clearing came into view and Link could see that Rolf had been taken down from the pole and now rested safely in his older brother's arms. Mia was the first to spot Link running towards them, a dying Boyd on his back. She shouted his name and ran to him, cutting her conversation with Soren short. Oscar saw the state of his younger brother and gently released Rolf before following Mia as fast as his armor would allow, closely followed by Rolf.

"Ooh." Mia said, looking at the wounded Boyd on Link's back, "What happened? Is he hurt?"

Oscar shakily pulled his brother off Link's back and lay him down on the ground in front of Rhys. The priest carefully lifted Boyd's limp wrist and felt for his heartbeat. The color drained from Oscar's face when Rhys shook his head gently before trying once more on the fighter's neck. Rhys' shoulders dropped and he sighed deeply as he slowly pulled his hand back from Boyd's cold body.

"No..." Oscar whispered softly, taking a few shaky steps back.

"...Boyd?" Rolf whimpered, peeking from Oscar to look at his motionless brother.

"Oscar..." Link said softly, looking up from Boyd's body to the green lance man, "I—I'm so sorry..."

As Oscar came back to his brother's corpse, the few surrounding Boyd backed away to make room for the knight. He carefully lifted Boyd's limp body from the hard ground and carried him back to his waiting horse. Rolf stood staring blankly at the ground where Boyd had lain for a few moments before silently following his brother. Oscar gently hoisted Boyd onto his steed before mounting his horse and helping Rolf on behind him. The knight turned his horse silently to the trail leading to the camp before nudging its side and sending it running away from the rising sun. Everyone simply stood and watched the horse's dust disappear into the night, saying nothing.

Rhys was the first to rise, gently beginning to head back to the camp to rest. Gradually, the others followed, with Ike leading and Link and Mia trailing behind the main group.

"You did what you could." Mia said softly as she walked beside Link.

"I know. But if I had just moved a _little_ faster..."

"Don't start beating yourself up." Mia yawned, "You can't blame yourself for everything that goes wrong in your life."

Link shrugged and yawned too. "Mmm..."

Mia looked at Link with a tired smile on her face. "Maybe you'll feel better when you get some sleep."

Link shrugged again and continued walking in silence. When they finally reached the camp, the sun was nearly up and Oscar, Rolf and Boyd were nowhere to be seen. Oscar's horse was sleeping peacefully near the entrance of the forest of tents, showing that the brothers had arrived safely to their temporary home. Link walked Mia to her tent before tracing his way carefully back to his own. The hero only took the time to remove his shield and sword before collapsing onto his bed in a heap of weariness, allowing the loving embrace of sleep to take him into the land of dreams.

_I can't even say how bad I feel for killing Boyd, but it had to be done. He always dies in the early chapters of RD and PoR, so I felt the need to emulate that pattern here._

_Please forgive me for the shortness of this chapter; I hope the next ones will be longer! Don't forget to review!_


	9. Leaving for the Sand

_That will most likely be the last time I kill off a character, but I can't make any promises_

* * *

Chapter 9: Leaving for the Sand

Rolf got no sleep that night, and by the constant ruffling noises coming from Oscar's bed, the sniper knew that his brother didn't either. The tent seemed so empty without the third body sleeping peacefully within the canvas walls. Rolf shifted uncomfortably in his warm bed, telling himself that when he got up, Boyd would be there like he always was, that his color would be back and his blood back inside his body. Even as he thought this, Rolf knew that it wasn't true—Boyd was gone forever. It was _his_ fault that Boyd was gone, _his _fault that he would never see his brother again.

Rolf felt a wave of painless hurt course through his body, and he sat up nervously. He pulled himself to the edge of the bed and sat watching the bright colors of dawn rise on the horizon. The others would be asleep after the night before, and Rolf knew that he would be alone. Silently, Rolf rose from his small bed and crept past his older brother who did not stir as the archer slid soundlessly from the canvas tent. Taking a deep breath of the new morning air, Rolf looked around the camp with tired eyes.

He half expected to see Boyd to walk out from behind one of the tents, to say that last night never happened, that he was still there. Yet, even as Rolf stood and watched, Boyd did not come. The small boy sighed and walked shakily from his makeshift home towards the nearby forest. The forest had always offered Rolf its green comfort, whether it was with the lush foliage or the protecting branches of the trees.

Rolf let his hand rest softly on the trunk of a nearby tree as he remembered that it was his love of the forest that had gotten him taken in the first place. If he hadn't let himself be kidnapped, then Boyd wouldn't had had to come save him, and he would still be alive, still be there to make fun of him, to call him weak. Even Boyd's insults were never enough to damage their bond; Rolf always knew that he never meant it.

The whole time he was up on that goddess forsaken pole, Rolf knew that his brothers would be there to save him, like they always had before. Yet, when he was finally free Rolf could tell that something was wrong, only Oscar greeted him on solid ground. When Boyd's lifeless body was brought into the clearing, Rolf couldn't bring himself to cry, Boyd would never let himself die so easily, he would be fine, the blood that soaked his clothes was not his. Even as he rode on Oscar's horse with Boyd's body, Rolf told himself that Boyd wasn't dead, that when they got back to camp, Boyd would wake up and be perfectly fine.

Now, Rolf realized that Boyd wasn't coming back. His older brother was gone forever, and it was his fault. Rolf would never see Boyd again, never hear his kind insults again, and never feel his rough fingers ruffle through his hair — nothing would be the same without his older brother. Rolf let out a pained moan and slid to the springy moss-cloaked ground, burying his head in his hands.

The silence of the forest was pierced by the small boy's sobs. Rolf curled himself up into a small, quivering ball and cried, not only for his brother's death, but his part in it. Several minutes passed before Rolf heard a small twig snap behind him. Rolf already knew who it was, and he gently pushed himself off the ground to face the intruder. Oscar was only a little surprised when his younger brother wrapped his arms around him.

"I'm sorry..." Rolf whispered, "I-if I hadn't—"

Oscar knelt down and gently silenced the young archer.

"It won't change anything by blaming yourself." Oscar said softly.

"B-but..."

"There are some things that are out of our control. We can't decide who dies when—it just happens."

Rolf looked away from his brother into the green of the surrounding forest, his eyes still wet. Oscar carefully stood and guided Rolf out of the woods and back to the small tent that was now only home to two brothers. Once inside, Rolf pulled himself into his small bed and curled up underneath the rough blankets. Before another thought could cross his mind, the small archer succumbed to sleep.

* * *

It was late in the morning before everyone finally awoke. Ike, Link, Soren, Micaiah and Volug congregated inside of the planning tent while the rest of the camp prepared for Boyd's burial. Soren seemed to be the only one not exhausted and instead watched impatiently as everyone entered the tent and took their place. Volug sat in one of the few chairs in the tent with Micaiah standing near him, ready to translate if needed. Ike stood beside Soren with Link in between the wolf and the Branded. Once everyone was present, Soren cleared his throat softly.

"We have wasted enough time. We need to begin preparations for our journey through the desert." the dark sage turned to the slouching laguz in the chair across from him, "Volug. Do you know of a way that we could pass through the desert unharmed?"

The half-beorc growled deeply before answering. "Near Hatari. There are caves. They go far to the east."

"Where are these caves?" Soren asked sharply, motioning for the wolf to come up to the table that held a large map of Tellius.

Volug flicked his tail in irritation before pushing himself from the chair and leaning over to examine the map carefully.

"Do you know how far the caves extend?" Soren asked as Volug traced a small path across the desert from the decorative print that read 'Hatari' to a spot to the east.

Volug's ears twitched slightly before the wolf continued his tracing further to the east. "We don't know how far caves go. We use them for trade with rest of Hatari, and no one go further than Selring." Volug tapped a place near the eastern border of the map—apparently Selring. "Caves go further, but how far, none know."

Soren nodded and Volug fell back heavily into the chair and leaned back, his tail swishing gently from side to side. Soren bent over and quickly marked all of the locations that Volug had pointed out before looking up once more at the lounging wolf.

"Are you sure of these locations?" Soren asked, his eyes returning to the yellowing parchment.

Volug growled something and Micaiah fought to stifle a laugh, her small hand reaching up to cover her mout end eyes. Soren straitened up and set his burning red eyes on the dark wolf.

"What did he say?" Soren hissed.

Volug looked up at Soren with an aloof expression. "I said, 'I am completely sure'. What else would Volug say?" Volug smiled slightly, exposing a single glistening fang.

Soren said nothing and instead went back to the map. "It would be safe to assume that Zelgius used the same route to get to Link's kingdom. If that is the case, than the caves must extend all the way from eastern Hatari to Hyrule's desert. If we depart today, we could reach Hatari in a few weeks, and the caves a few days later."

"We wouldn't be able to pack enough supplies to last all of us the trip from here to Hyrule in one go." Ike said quietly, "We would have to stop in Hatari to rest before moving on to the caves."

Soren nodded and quickly found the company's current location on the map. He traced a route leading from the edge of Daein northeast in to Hatari, and to the small dot that indicated the caves.

"Do you know the way to the caves?" Soren asked Volug.

The wolf cast a sideways glance at the mage. "I have been there many times. I know the way well."

"We should begin to ready ourselves for the long journey ahead. While the others carry out their funeral, we will begin to pack."

Volug was the first to rise and, with a swish of his tail, the wolf exited the tent with Micaiah behind him. Link cast a sideways glance at the raven-haired mage as he rolled up the marked map and tucked it neatly under his arm. Soren walked briskly from the tent leaving Link and Ike alone.

"What can I do to help?" Link asked with a yawn.

"Mmm. Pack up your things, and help out with disassembling the tents." Ike said the yearning for sleep still present in his eyes.

Link nodded as he wandered from the planning tent to his own to get ready to go.

Many in the group of mercenaries were experts as moving the tents from one place to another—before the sun had reached its zenith, all traces of the army's presence had disappeared. The last reminder of any human activity in the area as the small mound of earth lying at the foot of a great tree.

Oscar stood at the foot of his brother's grave along with the rest of the company. Sothe stepped forward and carved Boyd's name deep into the trunk of the tree, ensuring that the grave would be marked for centuries to come. As Sothe stepped back from his work, he shot an angry glare at Link and tightened his grip on his knife, flicking it slightly in Link's direction. Link pretended not to notice the man's threatening gesture, but reminded himself to keep his weapon by his side at all times during his trip.

The group stood there silently for a few moments before Soren spoke, cutting the mourning short.

"I understand that you would like to linger," Soren said softly, "but we are short on time. Even the loss a few moments could cost us everything."

The group soundlessly complied with Soren's request, and most began to march to the north, towards the Desert of Death. Link noticed Oscar lingered behind for a few more moments on his horse and walked up beside the knight.

"Oscar," Link said softly, "I'm so sorry."

"You-you did everything you could." Oscar didn't look down as he spoke. "It's always been my job to protect my brothers. I'm the one who failed, not you."

Before Link could respond, Oscar kicked his horse into a slow trot to catch up with the group. Link took one last glance at Boyd's grave before following.

* * *

_Seeing as little to nothing is known about Hatari, I will have to make up things as I go. I hope that my interpretation of the desert country is accurate, or at least believable. I've noticed that my chapters are getting better and shorter at the same time. I apologize if this bothers anyone. Anyway, a favorite or an alert is not a replacement for a review, so if you're one of those people who have this alerted, but yet to leave a review, please take the few seconds it takes to leave a review. They inspire me to update sooner, if you need a reason._


	10. Swordmaster Trio

_Ooooh, it's been almost a month since my last update! I've been busy with other things, and I ended up writing this chapter two times in two different ways, but it's finally here! Yayness! _

_Anyway, you should know right away that the idea of Stefan, Zihark and Mia being friends isn't mine, but my Beta-Reader's, Bizz-Chan. _

* * *

Chapter 10: Swordmaster Trio

"I can't believe he's really gone..." Mist said thoughtfully, "Nothing will ever be the same with out him..." The young girl looked up at her older brother, searching for some sort of acknowledgement. "Brother, are you even listening to me?"

Ike nodded slowly and yawned before running his fingers through his dark blue hair. "Yes, of course."

"It doesn't look like it!" Mist said, jumping a step ahead of her brother and stopping.

"I've had a lot on my mind lately, and we all had a late night last night..."

Mist stomped her foot angrily. "Well, you should be listening! I'm worried about something too!"

"Mmm. Really, and what would that be?" Ike asked, walking past his sister.

"Are you sure that we're doing the right thing, bringing Link back to his kingdom?" Mist said softly, jogging to catch up with Ike. "I mean, ever since he came here, all we've had are problems. First, Rhys is nearly killed, then Rolf is kidnapped, and now...Boyd..."

Ike sighed and stopped walking again. "Mist, I understand how your thinking, but trust me; I know what I'm doing."

"How can you be so sure? For all we know, Link could be leading us into a trap!"

Ike chuckled softly and knelt down, resting his rough hands on his sister's shoulders. "Since when did you start worrying about walking into traps?"

"Ever since the last war. Even Soren almost fell for some of the things Zelgius said, and you know how he is about things like that."

"But we made it out alive, didn't we?"

"Well, yeah. But next time, we might not be so lucky..."

Ike sighed again. "I told you Mist, you don't have anything to worry about. Something tells me that bringing Link back to his kingdom holds all of our interests."

Mist said nothing, ran ahead to Rolf, leaving Ike by himself.

"I couldn't help but overhear." a calm voice called from behind the blue-haired mercenary.

Soren strode up next to Ike and continued. "I too feel that we should be exercising caution when dealing with Link. I believe that we have shown him more hospitality than we truly needed to."

"That may be, but it's too late to turn back now." Ike said slowly.

"Perhaps." Soren said, his red eyes moving from the path ahead up to the darkening sky above. "It is getting late, we should consider setting camp up now."

Ike yawned again and nodded. "Good idea. Would it be safe to just sleep here for the night?"

"No, not here, but further north there is a small cliff near a waterfall that would provide better cover than out in the open.

"Even when you're half-asleep, you think clearer than I do on a normal day!" Ike laughed,

"How much further would we have to go?"

"Not even a mile. We are in close proximity to the waterfall already, and merely need to divert from the main path for several minutes to reach it."

"Well, then. Why don't you go tell the caravan the plan, while I inform everyone else?" Ike said, stretching.

Soren said nothing, but fell back to fill out Ike's order. The group quickly made its way to the waterfall Soren had described, and everyone began the tasks of setting up camp for the night, hoping to finish before the waning sunlight disappeared completely.

The clearing was split into two distinct halves by the runoff of the falls, the small river flowing as far as the eye could see. The cliff the water was plummeting from gradually sank back down to the earth and spread out for almost a mile on each side of the cataract. Each side of the green clearing was lined with lush, green trees, nourished by the cooling mist settling at the base of the falls. The liquid collected at the bottom of the waters rushing off the face of the cliff were as clear as glass, and fish could be seen swimming beneath the surface.

Mia wandered around the completed sea of tents, looking for a two of her friends. The three had been together on and off for several years. Frowning slightly, Mia spun in a quick circle, scanning the area for the two men. Resting her hand the hilt of her sword and sighing loudly, Mia absently twirled a strand of hair around her finger, thinking about where her friends could be. Frustrated, Mia sighed again and spun once more to search the maze. Much to her surprise, before the violet-haired swordmaster completed her turn, she came face-to-face with a brightly colored man, smiling warmly.

"Would you happen to be looking for me?" he inquired as Mia jumped lightly in surprise.

"Oh my gosh Stefan, you scared me!" Mia breathed, "How long have you been there?"

"Mmm." Stefan murmured, "For a few minutes, perhaps. Then again, who is to say how long I waited for you to mark my presence, even as I followed close behind as you searched with such perlustration?"

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Mia's frown curved into a grin as she shoved her friend away playfully, giggling. Stefan stumbled back laughing, and quickly recovered his balance.

"Well then, Mr. Perlustrious, do you know the location of our missing party?" Mia asked, her voice still shaking with lingering laughter.

Stefan shook his head, his long, green hair waving gently. "No, I do not. I too have been searching for Zihark, bearing results no better than yours."

"Huh?" Mia wondered aloud, "I wonder where he got off to?"

Stefan shrugged and looked around the tents absently.

"It seems as if I'm the man of the hour." another voice called from the crowd milling through the walkway between tents.

It took the two friends a moment to spot the source of the voice—a thin, lightly armored swordmaster carrying three carved branches peeled of bark and leaves over his right shoulder.

"There you are, silly!" Mia squealed, running over to Zihark with Stefan walking casually up behind her.

"Well, it took me a little longer to find the practice swords than I thought. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting." Zihark explained, handing one of the wooden swords to each of his friends. Mia was jumping up and down excitedly as she took hers and nearly hit a passing Soren who mumbled something under his breath but kept walking.

"Well, now that we're all ready, let's go!" Mia said, tugging impatiently on Stefan's robe, "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

A once more laughing Stefan, Zihark followed Mia as she bounced through the crowd, somehow managing to avoid a collision.

"While I was looking for you two, I found the most perfectest place to spar!" she shouted back at her two lagging friends. "Ooh, hurry! The sun's going down!"

"They say patience is a virtue." Stefan remarked, weighing his practice sword as he walked.

Mia stopped suddenly and twirled to face her green friend. "Tch! Tell that to the sun! It's the one that just _has_ to go down at a certain time every day, no matter what!" she said, turning to skip past the last of the canvas and out to the lush grass of the meadow surrounding the waterfall.

"No need to make a spectacle." Stefan laughed with a leisurely wave of his hand.

Mia twirled across the meadow towards the river; insects rose up all around her as her dance disturbed them from their place. The tall grass left a long wake behind the girl, the whole field like a shimmering, undulating sea of green. Stefan and Zihark followed a small distance away, the natural playground brushing against their legs softly as they came closer to the calm river.

Mia walked in a strait line along the river, carefully placing one foot in front of the other and holding her arms out at her side to keep balance. The three swordmasters' boots left small divots in the soft sand lining the water, each footprint filling with the clear liquid soon after their creation.

Just down river, an archipelago of smooth rocks spread across the width of the water, creating a bridge of stepping-stones to the other side of the meadow. Mia wandered over to the path across and leapt lightly across, her two friends close behind.

Once across the river, Mia bounded to a single tree along the banks of the stream and tumbled gracefully into the cool shade of the grass beneath. Her back to the splashing water, Mia could see the second half of the grassway spread before her. In the waning glow of the sun, faint glimmers of light sparkled as the fireflies rose into the air to illuminate the night sky.

Zihark wandered around the field aimlessly and Stefan stood against the thick tree next to Mia.

"See? Didn't I tell you it was great?" Mia sighed, sinking further down into the grass and closing her eyes.

"That you did." Stefan said, his teal eyes scanning the area silently, "It is unfortunate that we cannot stay in this place longer, it is rather peaceful."

"Mmm..." Mia murmured, twitching her nose as a single blade of grass tickled her face gently.

Stefan smiled and pushed himself off the tree as Zihark strode over.

"Shall we then?" Stefan mused, lifting his wooden sword easily.

Zihark laughed. "Yes, we shall."

The two swordmasters stepped away from the tree and faced each other holding their practice blades at the ready. They circled around each other, tracing patterns in the deep grass as they paced, gradually coming closer together. Mia lay under the tree on her side, playing with the grass as she watched her two friends train.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mia noticed a movement in the green surrounding her. Rolling onto her stomach, Mia caught another glimpse of the greenness making its way towards her. Smiling, the young swordmaster pushed herself off the ground and bounced over to greet the newcomer.

Link nearly lost his balance when Mia jumped in front of him.

"Well, hi there!" Mia said, swinging her arms around her.

"Oh, hello." Link said, looking past the violet swordswoman at the dueling Stefan and Zihark.

Noticing Link's detachment, Mia followed his gaze to her friends and jumped again, this time nearly knocking Link over.

"Oops! Almost forgot! Come here!" Mia shouted as she ran off towards the two trueblades, leaving Link to wander after her.

Meanwhile, Zihark and Stefan had not noticed when Mia had run away and continued to practice. The two practice blades met each other with a dull thud, and both swordmasters smiled as they waited for one of them to fail. Mia jogged up next to the two, twirling her hair as she does oh so often.

"Hey guys," she started, looking back to make sure Link had followed her, "I got someone for you to meet!"

Though both heard Mia, only Stefan loosened his hold on his weapon, and Zihark's wooden sword continued its downward arc, smacking into the rainbow swordmaster heavily. Tracing his eyes from the sword resting on his chest to the wielder of the blade, Stefan's face broke into a grin.

"Ah, you choose to take advantage of a distraction?" Stefan laughed.

"Well, of course." Zihark answered, pulling his sword away from his friend, "What else would you have me do?"

"I would have you listen to what our dear friend is saying rather than take advantage of my courtesy." Stefan said, tossing his wooden sword a small distance away.

"Oh, you're just—" Zihark started, resting his hand on Stefan's shoulder.

"Come on, you guys." Mia interrupted.

"Oh, yes. "Stefan said, allowing his sword hand to rest easily on the hilt of his weapon.

Mia cast a quick glance at Zihark before turning to Link. "This," she said, "is Link. He's the one who washed up a few days ago. I've taken it upon myself to teach him anything he needs to know about this land of ours."

"Oh, so he's the one, eh?" Zihark said, taking his hand from his friend's shoulder and holding it out to Link. "I'm Zihark, I'm pretty sure we've met, but never really got a chance to get acquainted."

"Mmm." Stefan said, tapping the hilt of his sword absent-mindedly, "And I...am Stefan!" At his name, the rainbow swordsman reached his right hand to Link with a laugh.

Link smiled and shook Stefan's hand as Mia continued to explain.

"Yeah, the three of us have been together fooor..." she paused to think, "Mmm, a total of three years?" Mia turned to Stefan.

"We all took part in the Mad King's War for several months, and then we went our separate ways for three more years. After that, we came back together under more..." Stefan hesitated, "unfortunate circumstances."

Before Link could wonder the meaning of these 'unfortunate circumstances', a loud call on the other side of the river caught everyone's attention. It was Mist; she was standing on the banks of the river waving her arms about.

"Hey!" she shouted, "Dinner's being served, so if you're hungry, come and get it!"

Mia waved back to show that the group had heard Mist's message.

"Well then," Stefan said, stretching, "Shall we see if we can't find us some delectable cuisine across the river?"

Mia laughed and pushed Stefan to the side with a smile, "You is silly."

The four quickly went back to the camp, eager to eat Mist's mediocre cooking and take a long, well deserved rest.

* * *

_I've come to notice that there is a larger need for me to explain the events that took place before this story. I may have to put this one off so I can get far enough into the prequel to explain certain things..._

_Also, I've found myself with more time that usual lately, and don't know which of my several unfinished stories to spend the most time on. So, if you would be so kind as to go to my profile and vote for the story you want me to focus on, I would be oh so appreciative!_

_Anyways, I hope my next update is sooner... Don't forget to review!_


	11. An Odd Little Hawk

_Oh look, an update! I know this took a really long time, but I hope it was worth it!_

_Oh, and to my dear, dear cousin, isimplylovett, this is just for you._

Chapter 11: An Odd Little Hawk

They set out early the next morning, much to the silent annoyance of many who would rather sleep for several more hours before beginning the exceedingly tedious task of marching. But rise they did and the entire company tramped through the thinning forest towards the dry, duney wasteland that waited for them just on the other side of the trees. Every hour, the trees became further apart, shorter and thinner. It was nearly time to set up camp when the trees finally disappeared and the great entirety of the ocean of sand stretched out in front of them to the horizon and seemingly beyond.

Rather than venturing out into the arid desert and risk being overrun by the chilling night before they reached a safe place to sleep, the company stopped at the edge of the forest, the vast giant of the Desert of Death looming over them menacingly. The sun set slowly, the cloudless sky blazing with the oranges and reds of the dying day. The fires were lit, and gradually, everyone wandered off to bed, most preparing themselves for the tough trek ahead.

Volug had never been fond of sleeping in the confines of a tent; he had always preferred a more open area, not closed off by walls. Even in Hatari, he had opted to sleeping in the gardens rather than the room Nailah provided for him. With a wide yawn, the bushy wolf stretched in the breaking dawn, the air still cold from the night before. The birds in the last remaining trees chirped quietly in the crisp morning, always feeling the need to be the first ones awake every day. Volug found birds to be somewhat of a nuisance. He was not thinking of his Laguz brothers, but the tiny, chirrupy rats with wings that populated every known brook and crag of the world. Even though they were less populous in Hatari, birds still proved to be a constant inconvenience in the desert region, deciding to flock to Volug whenever he tried to take a nap in the warm sun.

Scratching his side on a prickly tree, Volug decided that now was not the time to worry about those feathery mice, as he was to be the one to guide his group safely through the desert. Shifting back into his beorc form, Volug wandered into the barely awake camp, with only a select few choosing to be active at this time. He found that the beorc soldier were less intimidated by him when he wasn't shifted, though of course he preferred the majestic security of his wolf form, anything that he could do to get the Beorc be a bit less... annoying was worth the extra work.

Volug carefully followed the scent to the individual he was searching for, his ears twitching at each unknown sound as he went. Suddenly rounding the corner of a tent, Volug came across Rafiel standing in the cool shade of canvas' shadow. The calm white Heron turned to see who had come across his crude hiding place, and smiled when he recognized his wolven friend.

"Ah, Volug," Rafiel started, sliding his hand behind his back slowly; "You startled me."

The desert wolf growled something in the ancient language.

"Oh," the heron prince murmured, taking his hand out for Volug to see. A large, translucent blue crystal rested coolly in his frail grasp—a sending stone. "I was contacting Reyson and Tibarn. I do not believe I can… go back into the desert." Volug flicked a stray fly from his ear as the white bird continued, "So I requested an escort back to Serenes and a few re-enforcements as well." Rafiel looked down and rubbed the sending stone's smooth surface, "I have the feeling that we will need them."

Volug grumbled something else.

"No, they should get here before you must go, so you should still be able to leave the time you planned."

The wolf nodded in understanding and turned to leave, but paused and asked Rafiel one last question in the old tongue.

"Oh," the bird thought for a moment, "I believe Tibarn mentioned that Janaff would be accompanying you, while Ulki will be escorting me back."

With a final swish of his bushy tail, Volug left the heron to his plans. Birds had their own way of doing things, and he wasn't going to meddle. If Rafiel wanted to avoid the desert and bring in a couple of hawks, the wolf had no problem with it. Volug understood why the crippled heron wanted to avoid the desert; who would want to return to the place where they almost died? The wolf's ears twitched again. Though he didn't like the hawks of Phoenicis much. The one who called himself King Tibarn's 'Eyes' seemed especially odd, but of course there wasn't much Volug could do about that.

Forcing back another bored yawn, Volug continued his search for the commander as the camp began to stir in the warming sun. There were very few Beorc that Volug didn't mind; there was Ike, the commander of the makeshift army; Link, the strange, not-Laguz wolf-man who had washed up barely a week ago, and Micaiah. The last two gave him the same odd feeling as the dark one who followed Ike most everywhere and the whimsical swordmaster who said that he too was from the desert. Volug snorted. There was no way that such a peculiar Beorc as him could have been spawned in the noble desert. No, chances were that he was born elsewhere and ended up in the great Begnion sands at one point or another.

Volug shrugged these thoughts from his mind as he saw the blue-haired Ike headed his way, with—to the wolf's slight annoyance—Soren close behind. While he needed to speak with Ike, the desert canine would prefer if the strange-smelling mage wasn't present. Actually, why not wait until Ike was alone? Volug turned away from the commander and his Branded, but was stopped by a loud call.

"Oy, Volug!" Ike shouted at the retreating wolf who folded his ears back against his head and slowly turned around.

Only bothering to take a few steps toward the almost sour scent of the dark mage, Volug shuddered imperceptibly as the commander and staff officer stopped in front of him.

"You almost ready to go?" Ike asked as Soren scrutinized Volug's every move.

Before the wolf could answer, a loud screech broke through the still quiet atmosphere of the sleepy camp. Glancing back, Volug could faintly make out the approaching outlines of two large birds; hawks, based on his prior knowledge. He could sense both of the men behind him looking two, and he heard Ike mutter, "What are they doing here?"

Volug turned around to answer, "Rafiel call them. Doesn't want to go into desert. One stay here to help."

Ike nodded in understanding; the lone wolf's speech was much more intelligible now than it had been even just last year. "D'you know which one?" Ike already knew that the only two Tibarn would trust to bring back a heron was either his 'eyes' or 'ears', the only thing he wasn't sure of was which one would be staying with them.

"Janaff." Volug answered in a low growl; just that one word rolling over his tongue was enough to make another tremor work its way through him.

What made him uncomfortable about that hawk in particular wasn't the same thing that made the wolf nervous around Soren and Stefan—it was something _else _that he couldn't quite name, something just _wrong _with Janaff. Fighting to keep a scowl from making its way onto his face, Volug stepped to the side to allow room for the two large birds to land. The two hawks reverted to their beorc-like forms as Volug's tail swished irregularly behind him.

Having both the strange bird-man and the dark sage in his presence at the same time was nearly unendurable. But Volug stood there, bearing the uncomfortableness of the situation just as he would bear the intense heat of the sun boring down upon him.

"Ah, Ike," Janaff said, tucking his wings behind him, "Long time no see!"

"You're telling me!" Ike agreed, "I heard you'll be joining us."

The odd hawk nodded.

"I will go… to find the prince." Ulki murmured, clearly uninterested with the current conversation.

"You do that." His companion whispered to himself, fully aware that the other hawk could hear him clearly, "So, when do we get to leave, hm?"

"As soon as the camp is disassembled." Soren said, speaking for the first time, "Until then, we stand here wasting precious time."

"You complain far too much for a Beorc." Janaff said, glancing at the surrounding tents, "Rather than doing something about your problem, you stand here whining that others do not work fast enough."

With an inaudible reply, the mage turned to find something a bit more productive to do than argue with centenaryhawks. Volug couldn't help but smirk inwardly; though he didn't like Janaff much, he disliked Soren even more. With the Branded gone, the air seemed to clear somewhat, at least to the two Laguz present.

"Well then, the White Prince mentioned something about a strange beorc man with the power to transform." Janaff continued, "Where might he be?"

"Last time I saw him," Ike muttered, "He was helping Mia, Zihark and Stefan take tents down."

The hawk's keen eyes lit up, "Stefan you said?" He breathed, "Well then, it seems I'm off to find my old friend." With that, Janaff leapt up and flew high into the sky, looking for the other Branded.

Ike and the lone wolf glanced at each other briefly before Volug shrugged. The two wandered off together to discuss the plans for the coming day.

Janaff flew over the camp, scanning for the man that was hard to miss, even with inferior Beorc vision. The hawk had always wondered why Stefan chose such odd attire—though Janaff found the swordmaster's dusty blue robe quite becoming on him. In fact, Janaff liked most everything about Stefan; his long, green hair, his thick violet jacket, and even the way the colors of the scabbard for his sword clashed just so.

As this thought passed his mind, the hawk spotted his odd little friend, hauling several thick posts that had once held up the tan canvas of a tent with the help of his silver-haired companion. With him were three other Beorc, two of which he recognized as members of the army back in the Mad King's war, and one new face. Slowly, Janaff sank back to the earth, with the small group's eyes immediately drawn to him.

"Janaff!" Mia squealed, dropping the layer of canvas she was holding and running over to the laguz.

"Oh yes, hello Mia." Janaff murmured, looking through the violet-haired trueblade at the backs of Stefan and Zihark who were sliding the round logs into a long wagon nearby.

Dusting his hands off, Stefan turned around and paused for a moment when he noticed Janaff. Zihark smirked and looked over at the rainbow swordsman briefly with a short laugh. Smiling, Stefan shoved Zihark lightly to the side, and took several hesitant steps toward the hawk and swordswoman.

"Oh Stefan," Janaff said wistfully, "It's been so long since we last got together!"

"Yes, not long enough, it seems." Stefan whispered to himself with a slight frown.

"What was that, hun?" the hawk inquired, tilting his head toward the Branded swordsman, holding his hand over his ear to hear better.

"I said 'far too long for me'." Stefan said louder, his familiar smile returning in an instant.

"Mmm, yes." Janaff said, coming closer to Stefan and Zihark. "I see you haven't changed much." The hawk was running his hands along Stefan's arms as his violet friend snickered quietly.

Stefan's mouth twitched, "Yes, it seems I have a way of doing that."

Janaff smiled and patted Stefan on the head lightly. "You're an odd one, you know this?"

The branded rainbow swordsman forced a smile the same way Zihark forced a laugh back. "So I've been told."

"Well dear, if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." And with one last pat, Janaff took off again, finally giving Zihark the release he desperately needed.

Mia couldn't help but laugh a bit after the odd hawk was out of sight. "Poor Stefan," she said, rubbing the desert swordmaster's back soothingly, "He's so cute, _everyone_ wants him! How does it feel, hm?"

Stefan smiled and said nothing, his teal eyes sparkling beneath his green hair. Mia giggled once more before wandering to the next tent to take the canvas off with Link's help. Recovering from the spectacle, Zihark wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and patted Stefan's shoulder jovially before following their violet friend.

Just as every time before, it didn't take long for the mobile human forest to completely disappear, leaving little to no trace that it had ever existed. Ulki and Rafiel had left not long after the two hawks arrived, and the rest of the group was free to set out soon after the entirety of the sun's orb had shown itself over the horizon.

The next couple of days were rough, with dry, hot sand to deal with in the day; and bone-chilling, freezing sand at night. Volug got them to the safe haven of the capital of Hatari in a very short time, not willing to waste even a day in the arid wasteland surrounding it.

Itarah was a vast city, even by the rest of the continent's standards. It was situated between two massive cliffs, with huge buildings and other such structures carved into their surfaces. The wolves roamed the streets, transformed and not, visiting homes or stopping in the bustling market for a shopping trip.

Volug led them to the royal palace to speak with Nailah, who could provide them with a more accurate map of the region, as well as replenish the company's waning supplies. Though they didn't spend much time in the lost city, the army left a deep impression on the seldom-visited area.

They left soon after receiving fresh food and water, making frequent stops at villages on the way to the caves to quench their always thirsty selves and refill their water reserves. It didn't take long for them to reach the last town before the caves, and the group lingered at this location, resting before entering a new environment, harsh and unforgiving in its own unique ways.

* * *

_So, if things go the way I hope they do, the next update won't take quite so long. Reviews always help you know._

_Oh, I have some announcements for those who care. Sometime soon, I may be deleting the second chapter of this fic, and will also dropping the 'A Fire EmblemxZelda Crossover' from the title, as it makes it seem all long and ridiculous._


	12. Approaching Fate

_What do you know, this update didn't take three months to come! Who could have guessed?_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this relatively fast chapter, which is actually one of my longer ones!_

* * *

Chapter 12: Approaching Fate

The sun glared down upon the bright yellow sands of the Gerudo Desert, and Sealth shielded his eyes from the bright light as he scanned the desolate area carefully. The desert stretched out for near as far as the eye could see, with a strange blue halo hovering over the glowing yellow sands at the east horizon, marking the great Lake Hylia's location, and tall, lightly vegetated mountains towering to the west. Sealthheld his lance in one hand and looked out to the east, the sand sending invisible waves of heat upward to the brilliant ultramarine sky above. The HyruleanArmy had been here for nearly a week, and—as most of the men had returned to the capital—only a relativehandful remained to wait for the 'invaders' to actually arrive.

The general's eyes caught on the thin spires of the desert prison to the north , the circular symbols on top reflecting the sunlight off their painted surfaces. The place had been abandoned for centuries—not long after the horribly failed execution of the Dark Lord Ganondorf had the Arbiter's Grounds had been closed for good. But even devoid of life as one would define it, strange creatures still inhabited the ghostly grounds; supposedly the countless souls of the criminals whose lives ended there, haunting the place where they wasted their last hours anticipating their inevitable demise.

Normally Sealth would have never believed such ridiculous stories, but after speaking to Link about the many places he had been before becoming king, the commander knew of the many evil things lurking in the darkness of the abandoned prison. Sealth had learned that countless undead monsters thrived in Arbiter's Grounds; from walking skeletons with the ability to use rusted weapons, and not easily defeated with simply a sword; to towering mummies, wielding blades as long as they were tall, and possessing a screech so potent, that even the bravest warriors trembled in fear at the thought of hearing it. So many things that no normal man could meet in battle and emerge unscathed. Then again, the king had not been a normal man, as he had faced not only those creatures, but a seemingly infinite number of others, felling beasts many times his size, rescuing an entire country from the darkness spread by an insane man who just doesn't seem able to die.

Sealth sighed and shook his head slightly, trying to clear an unwanted thought from his mind that pushed its way to the surface anyway. The king had been a man of legends—the kind of man that one would think couldn't be killed, and yet, that is exactly what happened. That, in fact was why the former Hylian general was standing in the wretched heat of the glowing sun, waiting apparently for nothing. The cave where the king and queen's murderers were supposedly coming out of was in sight—a small depression of darkness nestled between two stony mountains at the edge of the desert sands. The explosives had already been set inside, so all the Hylianarmy had to do was wait for the outsiders to arrive, and the heavy stone of the surrounding mountains would make sure that there would be no question that justice would be served swiftly and without unnecessary loss of life.

When Sealth had told Zelgius—the only one to bear witness to the assassinations—about his plan with the bombs, the other man seemed to be rather surprised. Sealth had attributed it to his general unknowledge of Hylian technology, but something in the back of his mind told him that it was something else.

With another, somewhat suppressed sigh, Sealth glanced around the blinding area once more, wondering vaguely where Zelgius was. He had taken to disappearing during the evenings, but usually stayed around the camp during the day. In fact, ever since the Hylian had told Zelgius about the haunted prison lurking on the edge of the desert, the man's absences had been more frequent. Sealth tried to explain it—perhaps Zelgius was merely curious to see the strange, undead creatures residing there… what else could he be doing in such a forsaken place? And yet, just as the outsider's reaction to his plan for the cave, these unexplained absences gave Sealth a feeling that something was amiss.

Everything about Zelgius made Sealth nervous, though he wasn't willing to admit it, as the odd man was the only one who had an inkling of what had truly happened that night not all too long ago. With another sigh, Sealth shifted his lance from one had to the other as he spotted a red contrast against the golden waves of sand. Zelgius walked across the desert towards the Hylian camp, his approaching form warped by the waves of heat released by the sand below him.

Sealth pushed back a scowl as the red-armored man walked up next to him, a slight smile on Zelgius' face covering the obvious discomfort of wearing such heavy protection in the unforgiving heat and awkward sands.

"Where'd you get off to?" Sealth asked with a grunt, not taking his eyes off the bright horizon.

Zelgius' smile broadened somewhat, "Just a little exploring."

"In the desert?" Sealth cast a sideways glance at his companion now, "What is there to explore?"

"I took a look at those ruins there," Zelgius nodded towards the hollow shell of the Arbiter's Grounds, "Not much to see, really, hardly worth the trip."

"Mmm," Sealth murmured, looking back out at the blinding sand, he doubted that the prison was truly that uninteresting, but he said nothing of it.

"Though, I _did_see something." Zelgius watched Sealth carefully, gauging his reaction.

"Oh, and may I ask what it was?" Sealth asked, looking fully at Zelgius, his interest hardly kept a secret behind his eyes.

"It was a…" Zelgius paused, closing his eyes as if to better recall the memory, "You could call it a skeleton, though it wasn't the bones of any man or beast I've ever seen. It was armed, and was pacing just outside the building there." He flicked his wrist in the general direction of the prison and opened his eyes.

"Stalfos…" Sealth murmured, memories of the description and name Link had given him so long ago returning to him.

"So you know of them?" Zelgius almost smiled.

"Not as much as you may think." Sealth rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "My king told me of them. Only described them briefly, actually. He said that they were better fighters than they look, not truly defeated until the bones themselves are shattered."

"So, a single one of these 'Stalfos' could feasibly take down a substantial number of men?"

Sealth looked over at Zelgius with a skeptical glance, but the Begnion general's face showed genuine curiosity, "Well, it's possible yes. Though from what I've heard, they're not fond of straying far from their home, so we don't have to worry about them attacking. Why—if you don't mind me prodding—do you ask?"

"Ah, I was just a bit worried that they may pose a threat. From what I saw, I wouldn't want to take one of those beasties on." Zelgius answered, his gaze wandering off to the east, towards the ghost of blueness hinting at the cool cerulean waters beyond. "But if they don't leave their… cozy home, it seems we have nothing to worry about."

Even if the Hylians _did _know about the strange creatures living—if you can call it that—in the haunted prison, they would still be helpless when Zelgius put his plan into action. They seemed rather content with the 'explosives' they had set up inside the cave, though the Branded could care less for what they did, as it all was in vain—no one was going to come.

Of course there were no invaders, as Zelgius had told Sealth, but someone _was _vying to take over the prosperous kingdom of Hyrule—the Branded marshal himself. Not that he had anything against the country, Zelgius' eventual takeover was just one step in a much larger contrivance, one that would eventually bring him back to his homeland of Tellius; though not under the circumstances one may think. Zelgius was no longer a hero there, he had been shunned by those he had protected and ultimately forced from not only the Begnion military, but the entire continent itself.

In only a few more days Zelgius will have collected more than enough of the beasts inhabiting the torrid ruins to easily wipe out not only the the small group of soldiers in the desert, but any other resistance against him. But if the Hylians wanted to waste their last days setting a worthless trap for something that will never come, the Branded would do nothing to stop them.

AVAVA

Mia sat up and stretched, yawning in the pre-dawn light flitting in through the only window in the small room, as floating bits of sand danced expectantly within the scrap of brightness. The four uniform walls surrounding her were carved from reddish stone, cool warmth emanating from its smooth surface. It was the first time in quite a while that any of the mercenaries had slept inside of a warm building, and though she could have slept easily for several more hours, the violet swordmaster found that old habits were, in fact, not all too fond of dying that easily.

Rubbing her eyes sleepily with one hand, Mia reached for her signature white headband resting on the small table next to the bed. Humming, the sleepy mercenary slipped on her thin armor and fastened her sword at her side before quickly brushing through her hair and tying her band into place with a soft sigh.

Pacing through the room quickly to make sure she didn't forget anything, Mia tied her makeshift necklace around her neck and slung a small bag over her shoulder before heading outside to the balcony of sorts that jutted out from her small door. Out in the cool morning air, the light was an effervescent lavender, a sign of the sun just beginning to prepare for its daily task of soaring across the wondrous blue sky as the violet swordswoman walked carefully along the path carved into a steep precipice. At first, Mia had been rather skeptical at the thought of sleeping in the side of a cliff, but the actual experience proved that it was actually much warmer than an ordinary house.

The small town that Volug had called Embe was carved entirely out of a rubicund cliff overlooking a frothy river rushing below. Each 'building' was really a cave tediously chiseled out of stone by the meticulous wolves of Hatari, a thin ladder made out of the wood of the scarce trees of the surrounding area leading up to the higher entrances. It was unlike any place that any of the outsiders had seen before, with thin hallways connecting like chambers, a thin rope bridge linking the two sides of the canyon together.

Upon their arrival, Volug immediately spoke to the leader of the village, explaining why they were here, and kindly requesting room, board and any warnings about the trip ahead. The chief did mention beasts which Volug translated into 'Great Demons of the sand'—beings that swam through the sand, leaving plumes of dust in their wake, mercilessly attacking any who dare to stray too far in the desert alone.

Link had nodded knowingly when told this, and muttered the single word 'Moldorms' though didn't bother to elaborate on his obvious prior knowledge. Even then, he assured Ike that these 'demons' were nothing that they couldn't handle, even if they did happen to run into any of the sand-worms.

Mia stretched again, releasing yet another reluctant yawn before turning to climb up an apparently rickety wooden ladder; though she had no doubts that the piece of equipment was sturdy and reliable. A gentle breeze brushed by, and Mia paused a moment to allow the wind to blow through her hair satisfyingly before continuing to the top of the small ledge leading to the path to the top of the canyon.

She walked along the carefully railed trail, glancing down at the dark river below, still running along its age-old path parallel to the mountains lining the east horizon. As the plateau that was the top of the canyon came into view, Mia noticed the several supply wagons off to the side, and a lone figure standing near the cliff, their robe drifting slightly in the soft breeze. Stefan smiled slightly as Mia walked up next to him and dropped her bag next to his on the cool sandy ground, but didn't take his eyes off the mountains in the east, where thin tendrils of red were snaking up into the sky.

"I am surprised that you are awake this early." He maundered, casting a brief sideways glance towards his companion.

"Hmm," Mia yawned as the entire sky flushed a bright red, the sand and rock below reflecting obediently, "Why's that?"

Stefan shrugged, "I figured that even you would want to take advantage of the comfortable arrangements the kind Hatarians provided for the night."

"Why should you be the only exception?" Mia murmured as the red abyss above them deepened to a crimson only a few shades lighter than blood and a soft yellow glow emanated from the mountaintops.

"I've never missed a sunrise in my life." Stefan's voice was far away, as if he were remembering something from long ago.

Mia nodded in mock understanding, not about to prod; she knew that Stefan had things about his earlier life that he wasn't too fond of speaking of in the present. As they stood in silence, the gold crept higher into the sky, the scarlet sinking into a wondrous shade of orange, with thin wisps of the former red twisting through like rivers through the landscape, not about to give the sky up to the saffron becoming more and more evident in the ever-expanding pallet of the sky.

"They're better in the desert, you know." Stefan said mostly to himself.

"What was that?" Mia was watching the amber push further and further from the stony confines of the eastern crests, a thin blue halo trailing behind it, hinting at the hue that prevailed each and every sunrise.

"Sunrises," the Branded gestured towards the battle of colors taking place before them, "They are always better in the desert. Sunsets as well, but they are not as interesting a show as the sunrise."

As he spoke, the cerulean tinge stretched out from the rising sun and forced the other battling colors to cower farther to the east before slowly dipping completely out of existence. Stefan smiled as the sun pulled itself free of the dark shadows of the mountains and rested warmly on their brightening peaks. Mia sighed contently—almost sad to see the brilliant ruby fade from the sky—before smiling and looking over at her still thoughtful friend.

"You know what else sunrises are good for?" she asked, tapping the hilt of her sword with her finger.

Stefan's smirk broadened a bit as he glanced over at Mia again. "Perhaps," he slowly drew the thin sword sheathed at his side and turned to face the swordmaster beside him, "you should show me?"

"Why, I would be more than happy to," Mia also pulled out her weapon, pointing it towards her friend.

Stefan was the only one who would have a friendly duel with Mia using real weapons, not the cumbersome wooden practice swords. Mia liked it more that way, as the heavy sticks didn't have the same weight and feel that a steel blade did, and they didn't quite give the same satisfaction to wield either. In the past, when Mia tried to explain her dislike of the practice sword to fellow mercenaries, they took it as a sign of sadism.

Though of course the violet swordmaster wasn't a sadist, not even in the slimmest degree—though Mia did fight for pleasure, it wasn't the pleasure of killing another being, it was the pleasure of watching the men's faces when she—a woman—proved to be a more formidable opponent than them. Mia shook her head slightly to clear her head and concentrate on the swordsman in front of her, his Katti cautiously reflecting the powdery blue light surrounding them.

"At your ready," Stefan said with a slight nod of his head.

Mia smiled and leapt forward, beginning her always sought-after duel at dawn with a flash of steel.

Anyone watching the two swordmasters fight and not knowing that the two combatants were as close friends as Mia and Stefan were would think that this was not merely a friendly spar, but a lethal war-like battle to the death. Mia had a slight disadvantage in that the ground they were fighting on was blanketed by a thick layer of loose sand, and the violet swordmaster was not used to fighting on a constantly shifting base—though Stefan was, and the desert swordsman took full advantage of that and the extra strength granted to him by his Laguz blood. Even then, Mia had a bit of an advantage of her own—she was much faster than her well-built opponent, and that made up a bit for her clumsiness as she attempted to dance on top of the unrelenting sands below.

The two trueblades' swords met in an almost cliché manner—both fighters pressing on their blades to keep the others' back, and a dark shape loped up to the scene, its ears twitching as it watched the scene with curious blue eyes.

Mia smiled and, in one fluid motion, shifted her weight back and to the right, causing Stefan—who was still pressing on the Vague Katti—to fall forward a bit, giving Mia the few second she needed to continue her movement into a quick roll around to her opponent's back. By the time the Branded swordsman had recovered from the fraction of a second that he was slightly unsteady on his feet, Mia had Stefan's robed arm pinned behind his back and her sword hovering over his neck.

Stefan chuckled softly and dropped his sword into the sand, "It looks like you win this time," Mia released her friend's arm with a small laugh of her own as he continued; "I'm rather surprised actually."

"Oh, and why is that, hm?" Mia demanded with a slight edge to her voice; she had heard that many times before.

Stefan noticed her tone and laughed again, patting the violet swordmaster on her back, "It is not what you think. I thought you would have a bit of trouble on the sand, as you always had before. There are not many who can handle themselves on the constantly shifting terrain of the desert."

It was then that they noticed the shadowy shape that had been watching them, its dark body a contrast to the brightening sand coating the ground. The black wolf cocked its head and twitched its ears in the swordmaster's direction before taking a few long steps toward them. Without breaking his stride, Link shifted from his lupine form and walked the rest of the distance separating him and the two trueblades.

"Oh, good morning, Link!" Mia said, sheathing her sword quickly.

Stefan smiled and did the same, "It seems as there are more early risers than I had thought."

"Were you two just fighting?" Link asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"Well, yes." Mia admitted, "But not _really_ really. It wasn't like a fight when you think of two people with swords fighting, it was like…" she thought for a moment, "Practice! That's it!" the excitable mercenary beamed, quite pleased with her early morning word finding.

"Hmm, well, I was a little worried. I couldn't decide whether I should've come over to help" Link said, looking past them towards the east mountains, "Anyway, you two ready to go?"

"Wait, are we leaving right now?" Mia asked, glancing back at her and Stefan's bags.

"No, but I have to make a stop before we do, and I don't think Soren would be too fond of that idea." Link answered, looking from the mountains to Mia.

"What do you need from this stop?" Stefan asked, draping his arm over Mia's shoulder.

"We don't really have a way to see inside the caves, and fire is too dangerous to keep burning is such a small place. I have an idea of what we could use instead, though." Link's eyes flickered from Stefan's sword back to Mia, "But I was wondering if you…" His eyes jumped again, "…two would like to come with me."

Mia cocked her head, "But _where_ are you going?"

Link smiled, "To see the queen of the fairies."

* * *

_Well, what do you think, hm? The next few chapters have been carefuly planned, so hopefuly they'll come rather quickly, though how I hate to make promises... Either way, please leave a review! Though I don't mind really short ones, I much prefer them when they have more substance, with what you like, what you don't like suggestions on what I could make better, or other such things._


	13. The End

_Well, what do you know? Another timely update! A nice long one too, longer than any other chapter unless I am horribly mistaken._

_Something important to know, there are parts near the middle/end that explain some events of Radiant Dawn, so if you haven't played pretty much all the way through the game, there may be some spoilers for you. Just a warning, you need not listen to me._

_Also, mixed in with the RD stuff is a bit of a look into the events that happened before this particular story takes place, so you get some insight pertaining to why things are happening. _

_Anyway, enough of my talk, read the nice chapter and enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 13: The End

_They had lost count of the time they had been here; had it been only a few days, or several weeks?_

_Not that it really mattered; they would wait here in the blinding sun and scorching sand until they came, they would stay until the cave was filled with the people whose lives would end there so they would pose no threat to the safety of their land._

_Sealth—the man that none of them had trusted not even a year prior—had led them here, and they trusted him with their lives for the first time in years. The few Hyrulean soldiers that remained took turns looking through the Hawkeye Mask—a mask that allowed the user to see with the accuracy and precision of a hawk—for anything coming in through the caves._

_When the invaders came, they would be ready._

Stefan had never really been fond of cramp, dark spaces. If he felt the need, Stefan could have perhaps 'blamed' his minor claustrophobia on the fact that he had spent most of his life outdoors in nice, big open areas. Not that walking for hours on end through the gradually narrowing caves truly perturbed the Branded; it just brought a feeling of very mild discomfort.

Though that feeling had been becoming more intense with each step, and Stefan had tried numerous times to tell himself that it was merely the stone walls coming closer and closer, appearing ready to snap closed and crush him at any moment that was making him uneasy. It was almost like almost like something to tell him some important secret, but for unfathomable reason, he couldn't hear anything more than a low hum.

Stefan smiled inwardly; he wasn't really hearing voices, it just seemed like that was the best way to describe the odd feeling of helplessness—no, not that even, it was almost like a strange mix of fear, pain, frustration, confusion, hunger… The rainbow swordsman smiled again, none of these things really described the feeling; he was more or less listing the first words that came to mind. It didn't matter if Stefan could put his… unease into words anyway, as the rather vexing feeling would continue to make him nervous whether he knew its name or not.

Stefan closed his eyes and took a slow breath. It was rather annoying actually, always feeling unsettled and edgy. It had been many years since his emotions plagued him so… Yes, so very many years ago…

"Hey, you alright?"

Stefan's little bubble of reminiscence was popped gently by a sudden voice next to him. The swordmaster of the desert blinked a few times and shook his head to chase away the remnants of the memory clinging to him like a broken spider's web. Zihark waited patiently, not a stranger to his friend's frequent flashbacks.

"Yes, I'm just a bit… nervous." Stefan laughed at some unspoken joke.

"You? nervous?" Zihark laughed too, "About what?"

Stefan waved his hand dismissively, "Nothing that grants any real concern."

Zihark took a few quick steps in front of Stefan, "Oh, now I'm _really _curious."

"Truly, it is nothing that you need to worry about."

"So you get to worry and I don't," Zihark crossed his arms, "Come on, let me join the party!"

Stefan sighed in defeat and stopped walking, "Very well, then." He rested his hand on the stone wall to his left, "This," he patted the unyielding rock, "is what makes me nervous."

"That?" Zihark pointed to the cave wall, "You're scared of rocks?"

"No, not the rocks," Stefan smiled a bit and shook his head, "It's how _close_ they are." His smirk turned to a slight frown as Stefan pushed himself from the side of the cave and continued walking.

"How is that any different?"

"Stefan sighed, "It wouldn't matter if it was stone, wood, feathers—"

"Women?"

Stefan turned to scowl at Zihark for a moment before shaking his head and quickening his pace.

"Oh, you know I was joking!" Zihark jogged to catch up to the Branded, "So you're claustrophobic or what?"

"I wouldn't go quite as far as to call it claustrophobia, but yes, I prefer open places to ones that are ready to crush every bone in my body."

Zihark laughed, "You know, I think Janaff's right when he says you're an odd one,"

The rainbow swordsman ignored the comment, but slowed his pace a bit.

"Hm," Zihark paused, "I think that I'm going to look for some food. You want to come?"

Stefan shook his head, "No, not at the moment. I'll meet you there, however."

Zihark shrugged and fell back, headed towards whoever was unfortunate to be the one with the burden of carrying the food.

For the first time in a few hours, Stefan took the time to look around the cave. It was not very wide—five or six meters at the most—but still broad enough for the caravan to bring their wagons and horses inside with them. It was much like marching when outdoors, only rather than the supplies running near the back, they were spread out through the entire length of the cave that the army occupied.

Some rode in the wagons, driving the horses, while most walked alone or in small groups, talking in the dim blue light fluttering about. Stefan smiled as one of the thousands of sources of illumination drifted by him, its color undulating between a powder blue to a deep shade of teal. The fairies floated lazily up and down, their delicate wings flapping silently as they did. Stefan, Mia and Link had gone to get these little wonders of nature.

It had been a remarkably beautiful place, a sort of place that one would never fathom finding in the desert, it was like an oasis, but further to the extreme—a green, lush speck of rain-forest nestled between two heaving sand dunes.

Inside, strange orbs of glowing light sailed through the air where one dared to look, moving with eerie grace and purpose as they wound gently around the thick leafy trees surrounding them. In the exact—or Stefan assumed it to be the exact—center of the forest lay a large crystal clear spring, perfectly round and still as glass.

Link had walked into the pool motioning for Mia and Stefan to stay behind, even his movements hardly disturbing the calm waters. He removed one of his gauntlets—his right one, if Stefan remembered—and held up his hand, palm facing him, towards the center of the spring.

A small girl's silvery laughter echoed through the trees, coming from every possible place, every imaginable angle. There had been a flash of light, and it dimmed to one thick beam, stretching from the source of the water in the center of the pond all the way to the endless sky above.

The stream of white light narrowed into near non-existence, looking like a thick string. The laughter reverberated through the clearing again—a soft ringing sound, it had been—before the bright whiteness had shattered in a shower of glittery light shards.

And then, she had been there, materializing from nowhere, floating gracefully high above the water. She appeared to be young, no more than six or seven years old, Stefan had guessed, with a small dress and bare feet. The thing that was odder than the fact she was floating was her overall appearance—head to toe, her hair, dress, skin, eyes—she was a strange reflective blue. The girl shimmered in the light, her strange, flat metallic eyes shining a bit more than the rest of her.

"Young hero," her mouth did not move, but her liquid voice came from everywhere, just like her laugh, "What brings you to a place so far from your home?" she cocked her head.

Link had gone down on one knee in a sort of half bow, and the still rather surprised Stefan and Mia had followed suit. "Your Majesty, please forgive my reluctance to share my tale, but I have a favor to ask." Link said, even his voice echoing, but not nearly as extreme as the Queen of Fairies'.

The girl's laughter rang through the pond like bells, "Child, there is no need to be so formal. All three of you may relax yourselves. "She waved a hand towards the two trueblades standing outside of the pool, "Please, do not be afraid, come closer."

Mia and Stefan had taken several reluctant steps forward before a sudden breath of pleasantly cool wind pushed them the rest of the way into the dry water.

"There, isn't that more comfy?" There was a smile in the queen's voice; "Now then," she suddenly disappeared, popping up in front of the three with another silent explosion of light, "What is this boon you must ask of me?"

"Your Majesty—" Link started, but the Fairy Queen cut him off by pressing her small fingers to his lips.

"No, no, none of this 'Majesty' nonsense. I do not get many visitors, you see, and everyone back home is always saying 'Your Majesty', or 'My Queen'—it's no fun at all. Why not call me…" She took her hand back and had patted her chin thoughtfully, "Hm, what's a good name? Ah, you shall call me Annie. I've always been fond of that name…"

Link hesitated before slowly continuing, "Annie," The Fairy Queen clapped her hands, "I would like to ask if I—we," He gestured towards Mia and Stefan beside him, "may use some of your… subjects to light our way through the caves to the east."

'Annie' cocked her head again, her solid blue eyes sparkling, "Is that really all?"

Link nodded.

"Oh!" She laughed, "I was expecting something a bit more… big, I s'pose you would call it. The few people who do come here always ask for eternal life or the magic power to do something or other." The Fairy Queen giggled again, "Of course you may, child! It will be no problem!"

She floated back a few paces and spread her hands. With another brush of light, a small, dark marionette appeared in her tiny hands. Stefan didn't get a very good look at the puppet, but it didn't seem to have the right number of arms…

"Hey, Stefan!"

For the second time in only a few minutes, Zihark was pulling the Branded swordmaster out of his reverie with his sudden voice in the dark closeness of the cave. Stefan would have jumped, but he was far past being surprised by such trivial things as an abrupt call in faint blue light.

"Here," Zihark tossed a bright red apple in the desert swordsman general direction. Stefan caught it and examined it briefly, "I picked this up for you while I was talking to Oscar."

Stefan smiled and bit into the plump fruit hungrily; he hadn't eaten since yesterday, though time was hard to tell when you're inside a dark cave with nothing but mythical beasts to light your way. The light was bright enough, however, to see one of the various wagons speckled through the cave coming up in front of the two swordsmen.

With their pace faster than that of the two horses pulling the cart, Zihark and Stefan soon came to realize that the wooden wagon contained their other third, Mia, sitting next to the wash-up Hylian, Link, who was driving the two ponies pulling the rolling structure.

The two were sitting silently, with Mia watching the fairies float about and Link's eyes far away, looking in the general direction of the horses in front of him.

"Oh," Mia shook her head and turned in her seat to face her two friends, "Where've you two been?

"Around." Zihark answered, biting his apple again.

"Mmm," Mia went back to watching the fairies.

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you," Link murmured, his voice breaking the brief silence as his eyes watched the horses' paths in front of him carefully, "Do you think you could tell me what Zelgius did before he came to Hyrule?"

The three swordmasters stiffened simultaneously and were silent for nearly a minute before Mia spoke, "We don't really…" she glanced over at Stefan, "talk about that anymore."

"Well," Link backpedalled, "If you don't want to, I won't—"

Mia shook her head, "No, no it may help things. I'm not sure how, but better safe than sorry."

Stefan looked at Mia out of the corner of his eye; a small fairy fluttering near him flashed a deep red before whizzing off down the cave. The two swordmasters glared at each other for a moment before Stefan sighed and fell behind the still moving wagon, Zihark paused, but after a bit followed the Branded.

"They're going to be mad at me," Mia sighed and closed her eyes.

"If it's going to cause problems, don't—"

Mia cut him off again with a smile, "Naw, they'll live. 'Sides, it's a pretty good story.

"First thing, you need to know more about Tellius," Mia started, "First, there's Crimea; that's where most of us are from. It's in the northern part of the continent," Mia drew an invisible map in front of her, trying to recall the locations in her mind, "Then there's Daein; that's where Zihark, Micaiah and all hers' are from, to the northwest. Begnion is in the middle, and I think only Stefan is from there…"

She paused for a moment before continuing, "But it's the biggest place in all of Tellius, and they usually have the most power over everyone, and it has Serenes Forest, where Rafael used to live with Reyson and Leanne before…"

She trailed off again, "Anyway, Gallia is south of Crimea, and west of Begnion, and is where most of the Cat, Tiger and Lion Laguz live. And south of them is Goldoa, where the dragons live. Not very many people have been there, though I have, and I can't say it's a place I would want to spend more time than I needed."

"Then there's Kilvas and Phoenicis, the two islands where the Ravens and Crows live, respectively. Their kings, Tibarn and Naesala don't really have the closest relationship in the world, but they do well enough, I think that's all of the places." She paused again to wonder, "Well, everything's more complicated than that, but I think that will do for now."

"So, a few years ago, Daein and Crimea were in a war, one that was supposedly going to have involved the entire continent, but Ike and most of us stopped that without even trying. That's when Zihark, Stefan and I met."

Mia smiled at memories that only she could see, her voice far away, "Anyway," she shook her head slightly, "after the Mad King's War was over, everyone went their own ways for a bit, but about three years later and after a Daein civil war—and almost a Crimean one too—_another_war started; this time between the two races of Beorc and Laguz." Mia stopped again, "You know what those are, right?"

After Link nodded, the violet swordmaster continued, "Well, almost all of the Laguz tribes had made an alliance, and Begnion and Daein kind of made one too, but not really. But this is about the time where Zelgius comes in.

"Zelgius used to be one of the most loved men in Begnion, a brave general that everyone thought would always protect them. A few years ago, he led the Begnion army during the Laguz-Beorc war. He didn't really want to, he was always fond of Laguz—more than most beorc were, at least." Mia shook her head, "Anyway, he really didn't want to be fighting the Laguz to begin with, so the first time he got the chance, he completely refused to fight them anymore. Of course there was more than that, stuff involving something called a blood pact and Daein, but that'll take too long to explain.

"He was really the one who ended the war; the Begnion senators wanted to keep fighting until there were no more Laguz left on the continent, but the Empress Sanaki came back not very long after Zelgius stopped fighting and put a stop to that right away.

"Of course, the senators didn't like that much, so they were doing whatever they could to get Zelgius to keep fighting. They had spies go out and find out anything they could to use to blackmail him. Of course, they found exactly what they needed—the senators learned that Zelgius was Branded."

She glanced over at Link, and noticing his unknowing expression, explained, "Oh, when a Laguz and a Beorc have a baby, they're sometimes born with a mark somewhere on them , called a Brand. Supposedly, a Branded child was a crime against our Goddess, Ashera, and were hated, shunned and—most of the time—killed.

"But Zelgius, Micaiah, Soren and Stefan are all Branded, and it has brought them all things they didn't deserve…" She paused again, "Anyway, the senators found out what Zelgius was, and they gave him a fortnight to restart fight the Laguz left before they would reveal his secret to everyone.

"But, of course, the greedy senators didn't pay their spies enough to keep such dark secrets hidden, so the information leaked out before Zelgius could make his decision. It was barely three days after the public found out that their long-time hero was a Branded," She winced, "before they had driven them out of the country. Everywhere else had learned too, so everywhere he went, Zelgius met the scorn that he had joined the military to avoid everywhere he went.

"Now after that, I don't know a lot for sure, but the thing I've heard the most is that he went crazy and took some of those disgusting Feral drugs trying to kill himself. I'm not sure if that's really true, but I do know that he ended up in the village where Branded live without really having to worry about anything in the Begnion's Grann desert.

"He lived there for not even a year before…" Mia sighed and wrung her hands, "Before he decided to take revenge on those who had spited not only him, but all the Branded that had ever been before him. He had somehow gotten an army of Branded big enough to start a war.

"We didn't… we didn't know until later that not all of them _wanted_to fight, that Zelgius had _forced _most of them to…" Mia paused and took a breath, "Like—like Stefan. He didn't want to fight, he was happy with the small colony that they had in the desert, and he didn't want to do anything to change the fragile peace they had worked so hard to create…"

Mia laughed darkly, "But Zelgius wasn't about to let such a great soldier go when he had a cause to fight for. He took Stefan, and any other Branded that didn't join him voluntarily and gave them… he gave them Feral drugs—wicked serums that are usually saved only for the poor Laguz unlucky enough to be caught—they warp their perception of reality, destroys their self-control. All they want to do is fight and fight until they can't anymore." Mia shook her head, "Feral Laguz are the most horrifying things I've ever seen… But when I saw Stefan that day, fighting like I had never seen any human fight before…"

Mia shuddered and closed her eyes, "But we were able to bring him back to the way he was, so none of that matters anymore." Her green eyes opened again, "In the end, Zelgius and all his Branded lost the war, and he and the few that had joined them on their own were exiled from Tellius and most of the… Feral ones were brought back to the way they were before, but I heard that Zelgius had taken a few with him." She nodded with a sigh, "Yup, that's it."

Link was silent for a moment before he spoke, "I guess that after he was forced to leave, he went to Hyrule."

Mia nodded, but before she could say anything, Volug materialized in the dim light.

"Oh, hey Volug," Mia said half-heartedly, "What're you doing?"

"The end of the caves are close." The wolf growled, "Ike ask me to tell others."

With a half nod towards Link, Volug continued walking past the wagon silently, slipping back into the darkness.

"Ooh," Mia seemed back to her normal self for the time being, "That means we're almost there! What is Hyrule like?"

Link laughed lightly, "It has a lot of different places. Other than the Gerudo Desert you'll see first, there're many forests, plains and a volcano."

_Sealth and Zelgius stood in the sun as they had been doing for far too long, in the Hylian's opinion. Though it wasn't like he had a choice of any other place; it was either out in the sun and the heat where he could see the caves, or inside one of the few temporary structures they had built, where it was cooler, but also impossible to see the deep hole darkening the mountains._

_Out of the corner of his eye, the Hylian general noticed a single soldier coming towards him, the Hawkeye in hand._

"_Sir, they're here." The man handed Sealth the bird-like mask when he reached the general._

_Zelgius looked over with a look of surprise—he was not expecting for there to actually be something coming from the caves._

_The Hylian commander looked through the hawk's eyes for a brief moment; that's all he needed to see the dark shapes silhouetted against the dim, blue light coming from what seemed like nowhere. "Clear the area men, it's time the end this," Sealth couldn't help but smile as he gave the order and motioned to an archer standing next to him, "Get ready, and fire on my mark."_

_The sniper nodded and lit the small bundle of dripping fabric on his nocked arrow's head and drew the string back, silently aiming for his target just inside the mouth of the cave._

"_Would you mind if I took a look?" Zelgius asked, reaching for the strange item._

_Sealth nodded and handed the Hawkeye mask to the other man. Zelgius peered through the eyepieces as the two Hylians before him and he instantly felt his vision grow sharper. As he focused in on the dark mouth of the cave, Zelgius decided that this was how the Hawks of his homeland always saw, always being able to focus in on whatever they wanted, no matter how far away it was._

_Sealth turned to the cave, his mouth twitching into a smile that would be ever-present in a short time, "Four"_

"And there's a huge lake, with the largest bridge ever built still stretching across it."

"A big bridge?" Mia cocked her head and thought for a moment—the only big bridge she knew of didn't hold her fondest memories. She shuddered slightly.

Link nodded, "You can look out over most of Hyrule from it."

_Three._

"Oh, I can't wait to see it!" Mia jumped a little bit, "What about towns? Are there many villages?"

"Only two or three major ones." Link laughed, "The capital of Castle Town, the small village of Kakariko, and my home town, Ordon. Then there are the homes of the other races, the Gorons and the Zoras."

"Ooh, what are those?" Mia clasped her hands together.

_Two._

"The Gorons live on Death Mountain—the biggest volcano for miles—and are plump, rocky beings who tend to have egos bigger than they are," He laughed, "And the Zoras live at the source of the River Hylia, in northern Hyrule. They're also rather big, with fins and fish tails coming out of the back of their heads," Link waved his hat behind him like a fish swimming through water and laughed again.

"Will we get to see them before we go back?" Mia's interest was only slightly diverted as a small swarm of fairies fluttered past.

_One._

Link nodded, more serious this time, "I want to speak to Ralis and Darbus—the leaders of the two tribes—and… explain some things to them."

"How far from the exit do you think we are?" Mia murmured excitedly, scooting back and forth in her seat.

"Oh, we're close; I can already smell the sand." Link tapped his nose knowingly.

Mia sniffed the air and scrunched her nose, "I only smell horses…"

"_Fire." Sealth waved his hand with his single word, emphasizing his command._

_The archer released the bowstring, and the fiery arrow whizzed towards its target._

In the few moments between Mia finishing her sentence to the time Link laughed at her impatience, there was a complete and total silence. The thick glass-like quiet wrapped around everyone and everything, as if attempting to protect them from what was coming, its numb nothingness filling the cave with its cool tendrils of strangely loving quiescence. It could have lasted hours, days even—but in reality, the silence lasted for only a relative twinkling.

First came a flash of red flame, the light quickly blooming into a dark bouquet of fire and smoke, the searing heat not enough to penetrate the calm layers of silence. Then, not even a split second after the sudden conflagration began, the entire length of the cavern shuddered—whether it was shaking with fear, rage or pain, none would know, but the rocks groaned, already knowing what was coming next.

The stentorian roar began at the mouth of the cave, rushing back as the explosion ran through the rocks, screeching loudly as it went, easily obliterating the sturdy quiet, shaking every stone loose, and knocking huge boulders from the ceiling, from the floor, from the walls. The cave imploded around everyone inside, each crack of the rocks echoing through the inside of the mountain like dry laughter, sneering at the fates of the ones below.

Outside, the mountain trembled, loose sand shaking free from its dusty surface as it suddenly dropped down, a plume of debris rising into the air silently as the mountain lost several dozen feet of elevation. Silence took everything back from the calamity, snatching it like a small child does a stolen toy, stretching around all of the shattered rocks, broken stones, resting sand, looking for any sign that something had survived, desperate to have protected at least one life…

A loud cheering from outside the cracked mountain forced the silence to retreat disdainfully, eyeing the roaring men on the hot desert sand and the dreadful din dancing within them, scoffing at quiet's failed attempts playing savior. The loudness jeered at the silence as it hissed and retreated, the battle lost, the cave destroyed and peace obliterated.


	14. Alone

_Kay, so I either did a wonderful job with this chapter or I failed miserably. Not much to say really, not yet, at least._

_Oh yes, before I forget... Ilu Bizz._

_Now you can read!_

* * *

Chapter 14: Alone

Nothing stirred, nothing moved, nothing lived. Everything was gone; even silence had abandoned the place, leaving nothing but bored emptiness, sitting and whiling away the hours, waiting for something to happen to fill its always endless void. Stones were pressing down everywhere, on every possible surface, in every possible direction.

The first thing they noticed upon living again was the pressure, the bearing, unceasing pressure of stone upon stone standing on top of them. They coughed, the little air available thick with floating bits of rock jarred loose from the larger stones. They tried to rise from their inert sleeping position, but something to their right spoke to them silently, sending a clear message of pain that stopped the feeble movement as soon as it began.

They heard the silence all around them, surrounding the place like a thick, impenetrable veil. The quiet scared them; there should have been noise, right? When something lived, they made every noise that one could make, and yet…

_Nothing. _

They could never say how long they had waited there under the rocks, waiting for some sort of noise to tell them that they were truly alive, that they weren't just lost in some eerily hard void between the world of the living and that of the dead. After all, the entire cave had exploded, hadn't it? Who could survive that? To the lone person trapped under the rock, not knowing whether they were dead or not, it seemed all but impossible that they could be alive.

Yes, they were dead, they decided, and they may be trapped in this strange, dark place for all of eternity. Though that thought scared them a bit, it made them feel better, in a way, to know that they wouldn't have to worry about such trivial things—such as the state of their existence—anymore. Oh yes, the pain would be gone too, fear as well, any sort of worry, really, no longer mattered to them now that they were floating in a dull space that wasn't really there anyway.

But… if they were to be spending the entirety of the unknowable amount of time they had left before they disappeared forever in this place, they felt that it would be better, to be sure, if they were in a bit more comfortable a position.

Again, their right side prodded them without a word, but at the same time with a word, not that the person hearing said word cared much. The only thing they cared about—which was something they thought they wouldn't have to do anymore anyway—was they were feeling something that dead people weren't supposed to feel at all—not that the dead felt anything though.

_Pain._

Didn't the dead one who really isn't dead to begin with decide that they could no longer feel pain? And why was the not-so-dead-one making decisions at all? Perhaps they had been wrong in their previous assessment was, perhaps… perhaps they weren't dead after all.

They were thinking, weren't they? They were deciding, weren't they? Pain and worry hadn't abandoned them yet either, had they? All these things the dead couldn't do, they were doing. Dead people don't do much of anything except not thinking about what they can and cannot do and other such non-existent things as that when they are in their state of deceasement.

But… alive people didn't belong under earth, dead ones did, and they were most certainly not dead, despite their earlier notions. Their alive ears strained to hear something, anything that could show that someone else had lived through the impossible, and could possibly save them, as their right side found it quite amusing to shout out at them with its word that said nothing but everything all at once every time they moved.

Aggravated as one would be in such a situation, they gave up on freeing themselves and tried to remember exactly what had happened. Their head ached with the effort, but then again, every part of them ached, so their head didn't bother them quite as much as one may think. They remembered the cave, the eerie blue lights floating around… They had been talking to someone, they believed, not long before everything disappeared in a cloud of blinding hot darkness that chilled them to their core.

They needed to remember, though, who they had been with, it was important to them, as they felt that whoever it had been, they might not be alive anymore. They wanted to badly not to forget what could very well have been their last moments with their friends.

_There had been two of them._

Yes, that was right, wasn't it? There were two… If only their better side wasn't so very fond of its words that didn't really exist anyway, they would have hit their straining head against something, probably a rock, as they seemed like they would be rather easy to find in a collapsed cave like they just so happened to be in. They had to remember more than just a number, a name, a face, something they said—anything would be better than just remembering them as a number.

_Sound from above._

It was soft at first, and they couldn't quite tell if they were imagining it or not, but it was enough to stop their wandering wondering. But it got loud enough for them to distinguish it as a soft snuffing sound. They tried to remember where they had heard such a familiar noise before… but the memories fled from their probing selves, like invisible ghosts did to a light shining through nowhere.

Then, the ground above them shifted, the stones pressing down that much harder, sending a shower of dust into their little cocoon of sharp stones. They coughed—the sand rather fond of the sound—and above, the strange sniffing thing made a sound that the one trapped in the state of dead-but-not-deadness decided was a bark like that from a dog, which reminded them that they had heard one particular person make that same sound not long ago. Well, two actually, but they had known one longer than the other, and one was a different color, and they were both from rather different places, among other such dissimilarities.

Ah, they could remember things like that, yet names and faces completely evaded their searching conscious mind, and it was beginning to get rather annoying. There was a scratching noise, more dust fluttered from the rock above and maybe even from below, though they couldn't really tell which way was up. Another bark, and the scratching came faster, a bit more frantic, if one felt like thinking that way, not that they cared.

And then, the fresh air rushed in, chasing all the dust and dirt away with its wonderful freshness. Their eyes opened—they had almost forgotten how to do so, but it could have been their memories of everything floating away, and not their depth in what they had thought was the land of the dead.

All they saw was dark. More dark than they had seen with their eyes closed, more dark than they had thought could possibly be in one place at one time, more dark than—oh, there was something _in_ the dark, and there was light. Perhaps it wasn't quite so dark after all; perhaps they just liked thinking the word 'dark'—they would never really know.

The thing in the dark was also rather dark itself, and shadow seemed to cling around it in an almost loving way. It was low to the ground, and was panting while still making that odd snuffing sound. One of the beasts paws—the one trapped under the rocks assumed—dug at the place where the right half hadn't spoken for quite a bit. Of course, the touch made the rightness annoyed, and it used its unspoken word once more, but this time, now that their head was free of the oppressing stones, they were able to cry out at their right.

The animal stopped abruptly and took a step back. Suddenly, it was cooler than before, but that only lasted a moment before the one who just found their voice could make out a more human shape and face. They knew who this was, they knew they knew, and no one could tell them that they knew that they didn't know, because they knewwho this was.

_You just don't _know_._

"Are you hurt?" the man who was known yet not known all at once.

The trapped one blinked and coughed before they nodded and tried to sit up. This time, the right didn't poke quite as much, as the rocks were no longer making it uncomfortable.

"Hold on, Mia, your arm is broken." The familiar unknown one said quietly.

Mia blinked again slowly, glancing down at her right side and spitting out a bit of mud. Link bent down and carefully lifted the swordmaster out of what could have been her tomb, being careful not to irritate her already painful injury.

She walked a bit hesitantly at first, her legs not only being asleep but also unused to the uneven, constantly shifting stones she now had to tread upon. There was a thin pathway set between two crags of the shattered rock, the life-giving pathway made by the lethal explosion.

Outside, it was near the middle of the afternoon, and the sun was at its highest point in the sky, watching the few survivors crawl from a hole in the mountain with an invisible smile. Link led Mia through the strange cave made by several monolithic boulders falling in just the right way to leave a triangle of life where all of the survivors so far had come from. The remaining people weren't sure what they would do about the ones that they couldn't find in their little haven, but for now, they were only concerned with getting as many of their own out of this little blessing as they could.

Waiting for Link and Mia in the bright light was Gatrie and Ike, who gently lifted the injured mercenary out of the pit and led her a fair distance away where Laura was searching through her bag for any staves that weren't damaged beyond usage.

She couldn't figure out why it had gotten so bright all of a sudden. It had been dark, the word that was nice to think, and now it was bright, blinding, hot and dry. Still, the names to the faces surrounding her ran away, and she was lost in a sea of swirling sand and heat and dead plants.

There was a young woman with black hair now, talking to the blue-haired man who had brought her here. She knew both of their names, she knew she did. Mia narrowed her eyes and tried to remember, but the two she couldn't identify were talking now, and she found it hard to think with a conversation going on in the background.

"Is she…arm…broken…?" the woman asked, her words fading in an out of Mia's mind.

The man nodded slightly, "…think…head…doesn't…we are, and…said anything."

The dark haired woman turned to Mia, "Mia…hear…?"

Mia struggled to focus her eyes on the one in front of her, but settled for blinking in the brightness around them. The woman sighed and turned back to the man.

"…might…concussion, but…her arm first…do anything…" She turned to the golden brightness behind her, "…you…straightest branch…here? I'm…her…sleep…now…help…"

The man nodded and left the two women alone. The darker haired one reached into the bag next to her and pulled out a small flask. She uncapped it and turned back to Mia. "Alright, I need…lie down…" She sat Mia down and carefully leaned her back until she was on her back on the hot sand, "Yes…! …going…asleep…a while…feel better…wake up."

She opened up the bottle and held it up to Mia's lips, "Not too much now,"

The mercenary's eyes slid closed and Laura sighed. She stood up and wandered in the general direction of the cave entrance, her eyes catching on the cape draped on the ground, covering something they had all hoped they wouldn't find.

Sothe had been one of the first ones taken from the cave, when only Ike, Laura and Shinon had been free, and so far, the only one not to have survived the cave in. Though in the back of her mind, the priest knew that there would be more, she didn't want to believe it. Being a healer, it hurt anytime that someone on her side died, she felt the pain of everyone multiplied several times over, rivaling that of those who had held the dead close to them.

Laura knew that it wasn't just her, though, as Mist, Rhys and Micaiah often felt the same way, but so far, the lone healer was the only one to really grieve over the thief's passing, but when Micaiah came out… Laura sighed, she knew that the priestess of dawn was alive, she just had a feeling, and a holy person's feelings shouldn't be questioned.

She glanced back at the sleeping swordmaster. Mia had several close friends as well, neither of them had been found yet, but there was always a chance that they were still under the rocks, waiting to be found like everyone else. Mia was always such a happy woman, it pained the priest to see her in such an unresponsive state, and she feared what would happen if her two friends didn't make it…

Laura looked around the area once more to change the subject of her mind. The mountain towered to her left, the caves completely flattened beneath them, and the entire northwestern horizon was sand, nothing but sand, tapering back into the rocky peaks towards the east.

Soren walked along the southern mountains, picking up the occasional stone and flicking it away; Shinon was standing near the desert, looking at nothing in particular; Aimee, Jorge, Daniel and Muston all sat in one area of the rocky sand, not saying anything and looking away from everything; Ike was nowhere to be seen, still looking for a branch to brace Mia's broken arm, Laura assumed. Link was inside the cave, using his nose to find more survivors, and Gatrie was outside the pit of death, waiting to bring anyone out. She wasn't sure where Janaff had gone, but the priest wasn't too worried about the Hawk's whereabouts.

Then Gatrie leapt forward—much faster without his heavy blue armor—towards the pit carved deep into the face of the south mountain where another was being spared from the dusty darkness. Laura sighed as she recognized Micaiah's silver hair emerging from the hole—the next few hours were going to be very long.

AVAVAVA

_It was dark. _

_Darkness was everywhere, everything, everyone. She, herself, was darkness. She looked down and saw nothing but the suffocating black that was. She was lost in her own mind, not able to find anything, not able to see anything. She was blind to her memories, but able to see her past clearly. Faces washed by, invisible in the darkness, taunting her, daring her to remember the names._

_Pain was all around her, it pressed down everywhere, but she couldn't feel it. Something was wrong, she knew it, she had to do something, anything to get away from the darkness, to chase it away by taking control of her mind again. She couldn't let the black take over; she had to get it away from her, it and the painless fear that came with it everywhere._

_She was suffocating in the clear air around her, breathing without moving, living without a heart, dying without a wound. She should have been dead, but she lived. She should have been cold, but the sun warmed her. She shouldn't be trapped in darkness, and yet, it was leaving. It melted away like a fog, warming, brightening._

_She could see now, the faces swimming by in the warmth named at last. She knew them all, she remembered them._

_The fog went further, further, backing away from nothing, retreating to a void that wasn't there to begin with. Brighter and brighter it got, warmth coming with it at each turn. She was ready now; she was ready to know the names and hear the words and understand the truth…_

Mia woke with a start, snapping up from her near comatose sleep. It was dark now, the sun having set long ago, bringing the cold along with it. This reminded her of something, something slipping away like sand through an hourglass. The first thing she noticed after truly coming to consciousness was the dull pain not only in her head, but her right arm as well. Looking down, she saw her pained limb wrapped in rough cloth, a thin branch acting as a brace.

She slowly stood up, her head throbbing a bit at the movement, and looked around carefully. In the distance, there was a fire burning, casting long shadows across the sandy landscape. She noticed, in front of her, another being lying prone on the ground, covered by dark cloth.

Though Mia couldn't quite make out what it was, she didn't really care either, so she continued on her way to the fire. Micaiah and Mist sat next to each other, sharing the same tattered blanket with Laura and Titania next to them, holding their hands up to the fire. Laura was the first to notice Mia's approach, and stood up hastily and ran to her.

"Mia, are you alright?" she asked, her eyes darting between the swordmaster's two injuries.

Mia nodded, "Yeah, I feel a lot better than earlier," her voice was sounded like it hadn't been used in years. The mercenary cocked her head as she remembered something, "Oh, thanks for helping me before."

Laura nodded and motioned for Mia to join the others around the fire, upon sitting down, Mia remembered something else, "Where're the others?"

"Oh, they're in the cave looking for more survivors," Laura explained softly.

Micaiah made noise that sounded as if she were choking, and Mist hushed her softly and wrapped the blanket around them tighter. Mia glanced from the silver haired girl to Laura, the silent question on her mind being answered,

"Sothe died in the explosion," Laura said in a hushed whisper.

So someone's died… Mia had never been all too fond of Sothe, but she couldn't help but feel bad for Micaiah, as she knew how close the two of them had been. Something pricked at the back of Mia's mind, encouraging her to remember something very, very important. She knew she had thought about it before, not too long ago, but it was before she could think clearly.

_Zihark and Stefan, remember?_

Mia's stomach lurched at the thought, her mind sluggishly kicking back into action, running with the possibilities of what had happened to them. The only thing repeating in her mind the question of the survival of her two friends who she could never bear to be without, while the rest of her conscious self wandered in directions she didn't want to go.

She could almost feel herself getting eaten up inside, question after question begging to be answered, conclusions jumped too and abandoned in an instant. Part of her wanted to know, part of her already knew, and another part feared the knowledge and hid in the innermost parts of her mind.

The words tumbled out of Mia's mouth in a rush before any part of herself could stop it, "Have they… have they found Zihark or Stefan yet?"

Laura stiffened and left a long pause between the question and answer, "No… not yet," the priest said slowly, "But they're still looking."

Mia looked down and tried not to think about what may have happened. She didn't want to think about it, after all the time she spent not being able to put a stable thought together, she almost wished she could go back that way for a bit longer. She didn't want to worry about whether or not the two men who she held so close to her had lived through the disaster. Mia looked at the fire pointedly. There were alive, they had to be—they've lived through worse than a few rocks falling on them. They couldn't be…

_Dead._

Mia was never very superstitious, but she couldn't help but feel that merely by thinking that one word, she had set a chain of irreversible events in motion. As if to prove her fleeting thought, there was suddenly a loud crash in the distance, rock smashed against rock, all but drowning out the cries within.

The group around the fire leapt up, with Titania silently lifting one of the branches burning only at one end to light and warm the way to the death pit. Dust was settling peacefully near the sloped mountains while figures staggered awkwardly about, coughing and trying to fan the suffocating air away.

_Dead._

The word echoed in Mia's mind as a gust of wind cleared the plumes of dust from the entrance. Mia's eyed scanned the area, settling on each of the wandering men briefly before moving on. Link was shaking sand from his fur; Ike had his arm over his mouth and nose, Shinon cursed loudly and Gatrie laughed as Soren walked toward the fire, mumbling to himself. Mia ran forward, looking for anyone else who had lived, anyone else alive.

The swordmaster knew what had happened without knowing, the always knowledgeable part of her brain that knew everything and left a few hints for the rest of her to decipher. The last of the cave had collapsed, crushing anyone left inside. If Stefan and Zihark weren't out here, then they were…

_Dead._

_They were dead._

"No…" Mia whispered, still searching though she knew she would find nothing, "Please…"

Suddenly, there was a hand on her good shoulder, "Mia, you alright?" It was Link. He'd shifted back and now looked down at the shaking mercenary with concern.

"Link… Zihark and Stefan… they're still in there…" Mia looked down.

"Oh," Link glanced over at Ike briefly, "I'm sorry, Mia."

"They're still inside, but…" Mia turned to what was left of the death pit, "They could still be…"

She took a few steps towards the shattered stone, mumbling to herself. This had to be some sort of dream, a twisted nightmare, and the only way to wake up was to prove that her two friends were alive and not trapped under countless tons of rock. She would find them herself.

She had to find them. That whole time the three of them had been together, it… it couldn't just end like that, it was impossible. She would see them again; hear them have their ridiculous arguments that neither of them cared about, ponder Zihark's undying love for his long lost Laguz lover, loathe people's unneeded hatred towards Stefan only because of his blood.

The remains of the death pit were spread out in front of her in the darkness, like a open wound in the side of the mountain, cracked and broken rock jutting out from what had been the caves. She slipped to her knees and looked down at the stone underneath her incredulously, her knowing half breathing its knowing voice into her ear.

_You'll never see them again._

_Never will you protect them in battle, and never will they protect you. You are alone now, silly girl, alone in a faraway place, alone at the time when you need friends the most. Forever more you will be lost in this dry, dead wasteland, longing so fervently for your life before all this, your life when they were still alive._

"Stop it," Mia whispered, holding her hands to cover her ears, "Stop it."

The silent voice laughed, _You think you can make this better? You think you can bring the dead to live again? You lie to yourself, child, you yourself are lucky to have lived. You should be dead too. Oh, but you know that, you know your death warrant has been signed already. It is only a matter of time until you get to join your friends again, only a matter of time until you can go home._

"Stop! They're not dead! I'm not alone!" She was shouting now, pulling at the heavy rocks below her, her right side whispering for her to stop the jarring movements.

More laughter echoed in her head, unceasing, unyielding, unforgiving. The rocks under the desperate swordmaster's hand were the same way, refusing to allow their already interrupted rest disturbed again.

And then suddenly, there was someone else there, holding her close to them, reminding her that she was still alive, that she still needed contact from another living being. Mia looked up at Link briefly and took a slow shuddering breath, trying to keep the dark voice from her head.

"It's alright Mia, it's okay," the Hylian whispered gingerly, "I'm so sorry…"

Mia shook silently to herself, able to hear his words, but not understanding them, "They're dead, Link… I'm all alone now, everyone's dead…"

Link shook his head slowly, "You're not alone Mia, the rest of us are still alive. Just calm down, it's going to be okay, I promise."

"I want to go home, I want to go back the way it was before, I want them to still be…" Mia shivered in the cold.

"You need to warm up," Link stood and tried to get Mia to come with him.

"N-no." the swordmaster pulled away and turned her back to the stony, sandy wall behind her, "I want to stay here."

Link sighed and shifted into a wolf and curled his warm black self next to Mia, his head resting sleepily in her lap. She soughed and leaned back against the rock, petting the wolf in front of her, trying not to think of anything, but thinking everything.

_Do you understand now? _The Voice that was her own whispered, _Do you understand that nothing will ever be the way that it was before? Of course you do. I know, and you and I are the same. We will both die here, away from all the places we've loved, the places we've grown up in. You have nothing to live for, child, Stefan and Zihark are dead now, what do you have left?_

"Everything," Mia murmured to herself, closing her eyes in weary defeat, "I have everything to live for. They may be gone, but…" She sighed and rubbed being Link's ears, bringing a content yawn from the beast, "They'll always be with me. I'll keep going, I will find who did this, and avenge my friend's deaths. I swear I will."

The lone swordmaster closed her eyes to try and shut everything out, tired of not thinking and thinking about everything and nothing. Mia didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until she jerked awake suddenly. She was stiff from sleeping against cold hard stone, but she could care less about how her body felt at the moment.

Mia stood up and stretched slowly, her mind wandering about in a half-hearted attempt to recall the events from the previous day. As the swordmaster was noticing that her wolven companion was missing, she heard a soft noise behind her and turned to see the blanket that had been around Micaiah and Mist last night crumpled near the stone.

She picked it up hesitantly and looked around. She was alone by the mountains, and she could make out several lumps in a misshapen circle around one small, still smoking pile of charcoal. The air around her was cool, on the brink of cold, and a light blue. Mia started walking towards the huddles, but changed her mind and began walking thoughtlessly up the side of the mountain until she reached a small level place, a mock peak, she thought to herself.

Instinctively, she turned to the east, the mountains much closer now than they had been only a few days previous, but the same shadowy rocks nonetheless. She saw the yellow working its way from beyond the mountains upward, a banner of pure blue dragging behind it.

He knowing mind smirked, _"I've never missed a sunrise in my life," Remember?_ _Too bad he didn't live to see this one too, no?_

Mia closed her eyes, a single tear falling down each side, "I'm sorry," She whispered, not knowing if anyone could hear her, but not caring either, "Both of you, I'm so sorry…"

"Stefan was always one for the sunrises, wasn't he?" Mia almost jumped at the sudden voice next to her, but settled for opening her eyes and looking at her visitor. Miciahah smiled faintly and glanced at the mercenary before looking back to the east.

Mia nodded, "Yeah… Zihark never—" she paused over the name for a moment, "He never really understood why, but Stefan explained once. 'The sun comes up before anything can go wrong in a day, it comes before any pain, and sorrow or happiness. The sun comes before it all, bringing with it, each time, a new start, a fresh beginning different from every other one,'" she sighed and closed her eyes again.

"He was a very wise man, Stefan. I… didn't have much time to really know him, but I remember Zihark very well," the Branded smiled again, "Such a loyal soldier, he was…"

Mia nodded again, her brain not wanting to come up with a response and instead wandered to a different place, "We're both alone now, aren't we?" her voice held the slightest hint of hysteria in it, "My family only had three people, and yours had more but…"

"But we're not alone, Mia" Micaiah's voice wasn't on the mountain, watching the sun rise pitifully from the mountains, but somewhere else, "We have everyone else who made it through. We may have lost the ones we considered family, but we have others who've lost friends as well. We'll share our pain and sorrow and find a way through it." She couldn't help but smirk again, "Everything's going to work out Mia, I promise.

Looking at now blue sky, the lone swordmaster couldn't help but believe her.

* * *

_Something very important to know; if I didn't state they were alive, they're not, alright? As for explanation, I'm not even going to bother with anything other than 'I needed to' think what you will of that._

_Anyway, I would really, really appreciate if you could tell me how I did here, as it isn't how I usually write, and I would like to know if I did a good job or not, yes? Thanks for reading it anyways._


	15. Revelation: Part One

_No way! An update?  
_

_Yeah, I know I've taken a long time, and almost a year is a really long time to wait for just a few thousand words, but I am going to finish this story, I swear. The next few chapters are actually what I've been working on for the last year, and it's so big that I have to break it up into a few smaller parts. So don't worry! I know this is short, but the next chapter will be up at an actual reasonable time! I'm not going to bother with a long apology note to all the people who've waited for this, because I know why you clicked on that little link, and it isn't to read my ravings, I'm sure! So go forth! Enjoy what you've waited so patiently for, and know that more is to come soon!_

* * *

Chapter 15: Revelation- Part One

The harsh air of the Gerudo Desert had become noticeably more relaxed the night following the collapse. Everything seemed more at peace now, and despite the chilling wind whispering outside their tents, the Hylians could not help but celebrate what they believed to be their greatest victory in years. Not since the twilight had been purged had they felt so very accomplished—despite the fact that few had had anything to do with their rulers' heroism.

Sealth sat eating in a weathered wooden chair, listening to the other soldiers quietly as they bragged as men often do, telling tales that most were sharp enough to know were not true, but a select few preferred to believe. One man in particular had the attention of a fair majority of the room—including Sealth himself—as he spun the very best yarn he could muster, "...and the beast, darker than night itself, crept out from the shadows, fangs longer than daggers, and just as sharp. The brute was the biggest thing I'll ever see—big enough to swallow a grown man whole, he was!"

He gesticulated wildly, much to the great amusement of his more skeptical audience, "So anyway, the thing turns to me—big as a horse, he is—and growls and fixes me with a glare that could cut an ordinary man to ribbons just by thinkin' about it." His voice lowered slowly, and he leaned farther over the table, "All the other cowards had left, so I was all alone, see, and I knew that if I failed the whole of Castle Town would be in danger. So I had my spear at the ready, the monster's eerie blue eyes diggin' into my very soul, and I charged it. It roared and raised its shield of a paw and—"

"Aw, c'mon, I was there." Another soldier cut in abruptly, severing the weak spell the first had worked so hard to create, "It was just a little ol' wolf, ya' fat cucco."

The storyteller shook his head vigorously in denial, "Naw, this thing was no ordinary wolf; it was straight from the Realm of Darkness, it was. I could just feel it; something about that thing was pure evil." He shrugged, "Besides, the coloring was all off. Where would you find a dog darker than a Poe's soul, whiter than one of them Snowpeak Wolfos, and with eyes brighter than Nayru's sky itself?"

The second man snorted, "If I knew that, I would be a rich man, I would. But either way, I saw you that day, Guru, you were runnin' just like the rest of us when the thing jumped."

"Lost my good arrows that day...." Another man maundered wistfully, swirling his glass absently.

Guru scowled and waved his hand dismissively, "Ah, but I'm telling you—"

"If you were talking about a Stalhound," Sealth said, speaking for the first time that night, "I suppose I could understand—those things are something to fear, they are. Wolves bigger than any Goron and nothing but walking bones covered with scraps of fur. They only come out at night, and like to climb out of the ground in swarms like Leevers, but so many times more dangerous. Undead in general are the ones you have to watch out for, they aren't the easiest things to send back to where they belong, I can tell you that much."

Silence hung about the room for only a moment before the men leapt back into conversation once more.

"We all be nothing more than clucking cuccos compared to our commander, we are." The man who first interrupted Guru's story said loudly, "We be sitting here, quivering over a common beast while he was out, fighting brutes we could never imagine even in our worst nightmares!" Even Guru nodded grudgingly in agreement, "Here's to hoping we could all be even half as brave as our commander!"

With a cheer, they all emptied their glasses.

After another hour or so, Sealth stood, bid good-night and ducked out from the warm, merry tent and into the cool darkness of the desert. The lone Hylian tapped the ever-present lance in his right hand on the sandy ground remotely until a gentle breeze swept by and the muffled voices were smothered by its soft whisper. The wind swallowing his sigh, Sealth walked from the glowing tent slowly.

The night was almost through, and the deep violets and blues painting the landscape were beginning to lighten, and Lake Hylia in the distant east was gradually regaining the brilliant azure it was so well known for. With a quick glance behind him, Sealth walked further from the boisterous light emanating from the camp and out into the empty silence of the open desert.

The only sound as he went was the soft clanking of his teal armor. For a moment, Sealth wondered vaguely why he hadn't bothered to take the heavy plates off despite the fact that there was no need for them any longer. He dismissed it quickly as a habit worn into his very being and ignored the soft whisper of his mind thinking otherwise.

Once the commander reached the crest of a small dune, he stopped. Nearly all of Hyrule spread itself before him. Beyond the blue sands of the desert, Death Mountain loomed in the east, towering over the Faron Woods and the castle alike. The Zora's River wound easily through the green land, emptying into the still brightening Lake Hylia.

_It was over now; _Sealth closed his eyes in relief at the thought. Peace had come back—it had never left, in fact. He had not only protected his homeland, but had also gained back the trust of the army that he had lost so many years ago. All because of the deaths of two people. Sealth sighed and opened his eyes. If only.... If only he had known, if only there had been some way to stop it. Even if it meant that he was never able to lead the military again, it would be worth it to hear his queen's fluid voice once more, or to spar with his king. But the past was past, nothing could be helped now. The only question remaining was...

"What now?" Sealth's whisper was swept away by a soft breeze.

He sighed again, opening his eyes to scan the eastern horizon, stopping on the spindly towers of the castle squatting in the distance. The throne sat in the center of the kingdom, cold and empty. Who would fill it now? Now that the bloodline was destroyed? Nayru only knew, and it wasn't Sealth's place to speculate.

Sealth closed his eyes and ran his free hand absently through his hair. If only Link and Zelda were still alive, they wouldn't have to do all of this. They wouldn't have had to roast in the desert for as long as they did, waiting only to slaughter those who dared test the might of Hyrule.

And Zelgius… He had come out of nowhere, with no background, no real way for Sealth to know to trust him and yet, the Hyrulean commander had allowed this stranger to bring him here. Not just him, in fact, but men who had found it in their hearts to trust him once more with their lives.

Even though he knew that in just a few hours, they would be returning home as heroes, as the men who saved the country from an unknown enemy, something lingered in the back of Sealth's mind. Something about the desert seemed off, the wind was blowing just a few degrees cooler than normal, the air was just a bit denser. Something was wrong, and he could fee—

Noise floated slowly from the spattering of tents where the army was resting, and Sealth stiffened as his mind gradually made out what it was. He could hear men's shouts, screams, steel clashing with steel—the sounds that any warrior could recognize as those of a battle.

Running as fast as his heavy armor would allow, Sealth rushed back to where he had been only minutes before, the clanking of his metal protection and his hurried breath joining the clamor he was rushing towards. The camp lay in a large dip in the desert, with dunes of sand surrounding it on each side, and as the Hylian reached the crest of the dune overlooking the scene, he was caught completely off guard by his first glimpse.

No longer eating inside and celebrating, the Hylian army was all outside, armed with their lances and swords, fighting as best they could against something that Sealth had only heard stories about.

They stood taller than any man there, each one towering over the soldiers they fought. The beasts each held a shield in their bony left hand and a sword in the other, the wickedly curved blades slicing through flesh as easily as the air. Their long legs shifted easily over the sand as they dodged the attacks the startled soldiers attempted to defend themselves with.

Sealth stood frozen for a moment, only able to watch the swarms of what he knew were Stalfos surrounding the small group of Hylians, the clicking of their bones and their strange whistles audible even from that distance. Shaking his head suddenly, Sealth shifted his grip on his lance quickly and ran the last of the distance to the first of the soldiers, doing what he could to organize the men in an attempt to keep them from being wiped out by the undead warriors.

"Sir!" Guru snapped to attention when he saw Sealth running towards him, "Sir! They came out of nowhere, and—"

"Listen closely to me," Sealth said urgently, glancing past the man in front of him in time to see a Stalfos run its odd-shaped blade through one of his men, "These things cannot be killed in the way any other beasts can. I'm not entirely sure how to get rid of them, honestly, but if we want to get through this, we'll have to find a way." Sealth paused for a moment, "I need you to tell the men to do what they can to get those thing's heads off their shoulders. At least then, they shouldn't be able to move properly, d'you understand?"

Guru nodded quickly.

"Alright then, let's go!"

The two Hylians ran towards the swarm of living dead, weapons raised, both unsure if either of them would walk from the desert alive.

_AVAVA_

Link looked up at the gradually brightening sky above him, his ear twitching. He hadn't slept much that night, and, not even bothering to change from his wolven form, had lain in the same place for hours, doing nothing but watching the familiar stars overhead and thinking. He thought about Stefan and Zihark, Mia's two best friends; Rolf and Oscar, the two brothers who would die for each other; Volug, the quiet, yet loyal wolf; Rhys, the caring man willing to do whatever it took to save a life. All of them, their lives cut short in the same hellish accident. They were all dead, killed simply because Link hadn't died like he was supposed to in the river that day.

Even though, in the back of his mind, Link knew that their deaths were not directly his fault, whenever he chanced a glance over at Mia's sleeping form, he felt the pangs of guilt deep in his chest. He was the reason they all came here, he was the reason that they had been in the cave to begin with, he was the reason they were gone now.

Out of the corner of his eye, he looked over towards where the few survivors had escaped from—the thin, craggy cave that had probably been created from the explosion, now nothing more than a pile of rocks on the mountainside. There was a lone woman sleeping at its base, the thin blanket draped over her fluttering ever so slightly in the cool, soft breeze of the desert.

Dawn was only a few minutes away, and Link knew that even through everything that had happened, Mia would still manage to rise before the sun did. He didn't want to be there when she woke. He didn't want to face her and to see the sadness, the pain in her eyes, and know that he was the reason for it. He knew it was a cowardly thing to do, and that he would have to speak to her about it eventually, but now wasn't the time.

Link kneaded the loose sand under his paws carefully, trying to bring his thoughts elsewhere, like to the strange smell of the earth, or the air… Yes, the air, he could detect something… wrong in the wind, a scent that the wolf knew, that he could recognize, but could not put a name to. And another familiar hint wafting through the wind, but this one, he could name. He could smell it, the familiar metallic odor of Hyrulean-made bombs. It had been obvious that the collapse had not been an accident, but Link still had been hoping that it had not been his own people who had done it.

He only wished that he knew the circumstances, why they had blown up the cave, how it had somehow happened just as they were inside… Next to the fact that not even he had known of the caves until just a few days ago, it was impossible for them to have known that anyone was coming through them, and if they had, there was no way that Sealth would have let the cave be destroyed. Unless of course…. But Sealth wouldn't fall without a fight, and Link doubted even Zelgius would be able to handle the commander alone.

Link's ear twitched to the side suddenly—he could hear someone walking towards him across the uneven surface of the sand. He contemplated for a moment running from whoever it may be. He still wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone just yet, and his canine legs could easily outrun any man's.

Instead, he found himself trotting towards the sounds, shifting slowly back into his natural self. Link almost smiled as he tried to swivel his ear to better hear the sounds around him—Hylian ears weren't too far off from those of wolves, after all.

A tuft of blue hair soon became visible as Ike walked slowly across the sand towards Link. His face was set in deep concentration, with only slight traces of the grief that shifted inside him restlessly. Link had been hoping he would run into the commander this morning, and he silently prepared himself to explain to him how his people were responsible for the deaths of so many of his family members. He wasn't ready for more guilt, but Link knew he had to face it, and that he wouldn't be able to run forever.

* * *

_So there you go! I hope this'll be enough to hold you off until I get the next part up, which will be around Halloween time. I hope you look forward to it; I know I do!_


	16. Revelation: Part Two

_So yeah, I don't like how this part starts, just a bit too fast for my liking... But still, as I promised, more!_

* * *

Chapter 16: Revelation- Part Two

"I…think I might know who destroyed the cave," Link murmured, gauging Ike's reaction carefully. He had thought out this conversation carefully through the night before, but he still only vague ideas on how Ike would react.

"What?" Ike eyed the hylian carefully, "Who?"

"A good friend of mine," he said slowly, "I can't think of why he would do it, but I don't know of anyone else who could…"

"How do you know for sure?"

"I don't." Link glanced at Ike through the corner of his eye, "But I can smell the bombs," he tapped his nose knowingly, "I'd know that smell anywhere."

"Bombs?"

Link was confused for a moment before he remembered that Ike had no way of knowing what bombs were. "A weapon, really. You light the fuse that's connected to the ball of powder and throw it. That's what I usually had to do, at least. But after a little bit, they explode and they can destroy… almost… anything."

"So these things are what you think were used to—" Ike stopped when he noticed Link had tensed up suddenly, "What is it?"

"You hear that?" the Hylian asked, turning towards the risen sun.

"Hear what?"

But Link was gone, his lithe wolf self bolting up the mountain, his four legs easily climbing the two-thousand feet or so to the top, hoping with each bound that the sounds wafting over the mountains wasn't what he thought they were. He could hear Ike calling from behind for a moment before following him begrudgingly.

It only took a few moments for Link to reach the peak of the rather short mountain, and he was caught completely off guard by his first glimpse of the scene below. Stalfos, a horde of them, surrounded a small group of tents, each one of them bearing the royal family insignia, the Triforce in red. The Hylian army was here, in the Gerudo Desert. Link already knew why they were here and what they had done. It had been his country, his men, who had destroyed the cave, who had killed so many people who didn't deserve it.

How dare these Stalfos attack his men? Even if the Hylians could be considered murderers, they were the ones he had fought so fiercely for not long ago and theses beasts had the audacity to step foot out of their domain and into his? After Link had destroyed the Stalfos' giant king, Stallord, they had rarely even left their haunted home, let alone show any sort of aggression towards the few travelers who dared cross the endless western wasteland.

Link growled, already remembering what it had felt like to tear those bony terrors apart the sound they made as the collapsed, and the sound the dust of their bones settling made once they were destroyed. He was one of the few who knew how to truly kill Stalfos, he was the only one who could keep his countrymen from being slaughtered by the always regenerating skeletons.

With a sharp bark, Link twisted around and ran back towards Ike, who was hardly even a quarter of the way up the mountain. He melted from his wolf form next to Ike quickly, glancing back towards the east and running the last bit down the slope, wishing that he could hear half as well as a man as he could as a wolf.

"Why'd you need to do that?" Ike murmured, following Link and wondering what it would be like to climb mountains like that… "What's wrong?"

"I was right." Link said quickly, "The Hylian army is here, well, there," he motioned back towards the camp he had seen a few moments prior, "But they're being attacked."

"By what? What could there be in a place like this?"

"Stalfos, skeletons that live only to fight and kill." Link shook his head, "I need to help them, the army has no idea how to kill them."

"So you're going to go alone?" Ike asked, stopping.

"I… can't ask you to sacrifice any more for me." Link said, pausing to look back at Ike, "I've cost you so much already."

"Your point being?"

"My point?" Link took a step towards Ike slowly, "Too many people have died because I brought you all here, and I don't want anyone else to pay for my mistakes."

"So, you're going to risk your life more than you need to simply because you don't want anyone else to die?" Ike spread his arms, "What happens if you die? Zelgius is up to something, we both know that, and he may even be behind this… Stalfos attack. If you're gone, there's not going to be anyone left to stop him. We don't know anything about this place, we don't know where anything is, how the laws work—we wouldn't be able to do anything."

Ike took another step before continuing, "So let us help you. We may be small in number, but more's been done with less."

Link smiled, "I suppose if you really want to, there's not much I can do to stop you, right?"  
Ike smirked, "Of course not. Now, what do you need me to do?"

Link looked back up the mountain, the sound of the battle little more than a sharp hum in his ears, "Help me get everyone ready. I-we need to get down there as soon as possible, before the entire unit's wiped out." he looked at the empty spot over his right shoulder, "I know that I lost my sword before, and I'm probably not the only one. Do we have any that made it?"

Ike nodded, "Just a few, but it should be enough."

"Good, let's go, then."

It didn't take long to get everyone awake; there weren't many to wake, really. Link was helping Ike with getting everyone's weapons ready when he noticed Mia standing near the foot of the mountain, talking to Micaiah. The silver-haired girl said something, her lips moving silently before she brought her hands to a rest on Mia's broken arm—her sword arm. Micaiah closed her eyes as the area beneath her palms began to glow warmly.

After a moment, Micaiah opened her eyes, smiled and said something else. Mia slowly removed her sling, stretching her formerly lame arm carefully. The corners of the young swordmaster's mouth turned up slightly, and she gave Micaiah a short hug before heading towards Ike—and Link.

The Hylian still wasn't ready, not yet; he stiffened and looked towards Ike briefly. Link handed Titania her axe quickly and mumbled something about having to take care of something else before walking quickly away from the small pile of weapons.

Mia watched with a frown, where was he going? She didn't care honestly, she was busy trying to convince herself that she was ready for this, that she could still fight by herself, without the sense of protection she had had not so long ago. Mia knew that she should probably wait—just a few days even—before she just went back to fighting, but… she wanted to be ready.

Anyone could tell that the cave hadn't just collapsed on its own; someone had done it deliberately. She wanted to be ready for the day she would find that person and make them pay for what they had done.

Stefan had told her many times that revenge wasn't good for a person's soul, that it just deepened the hatred you felt and made you that much closer to the object of your enmity. He had told her how he himself had spent many years of his life existing only to kill one person, and how, once he had finally been given the chance to have his justice, Stefan had let the murderer walk free.

But Stefan was dead now, Zihark too, and many, many others who didn't deserve what had happened to them. She was not just doing this for herself, but for everyone who had lost their lives at the hands of that one person. So she would fight every battle, if only in the hopes to find her target and have her revenge.

Mia walked towards Ike slowly to get a new sword to replace the one that she lost during the collapse. Ike watched her approach carefully, already holding a steel blade in one hand.

"Mia." he said quietly when the swordmaster came to a stop in front of him.

"Boss."

Ike glanced down at the swordmaster's arm, noting that she had been healed, "Micaiah fix your arm for you, did she?" Mia glanced down at her healed sword arm with a short nod. "You going to fight today?"

"Yeah," she said softly. Ike scrutinized her face for a moment before he held the sword in his hand out to her. But, as the woman went to take the blade from her commander, she found Ike to still be holding onto the scabbard tightly. Mia met eyes with him as he put his free hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, his blue hair partially covering his eyes.

Mia tilted her head to the side, confused, "My arm's fine, Boss. I already—"

"That's not what I mean."

Mia paused and looked down, her shoulders slumping slightly. Was she really ready? Was she ready to go to back to cheating death after what she had lost, after who she had lost? But… if not now, then when? Nothing would change between this battle and the next; it was very common knowledge that the dead could not rise, no matter how much she wished that they could, that they could just come back and everything would be fine and she wouldn't be alone and—

"Mia, are you sure you want to do this?"

She sighed quietly and looked back up at Ike's waiting eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Hm," Ike let go of the sword, but not of Mia's shoulder, "Just be careful, alright? Too many people have died here, and I don't want your name added to the list."

"I'll be fine," the mercenary said, the slightest hint of a smile appearing on her face, "It's not like this is my first time in a fight."

"I know, but…" Ike hesitated, remembering a time nearly four years earlier where he had felt the same way as the woman in front of him, "after you lose someone, it's easy for you to get distracted, even in the middle of a battle. And you and I both know that distractions can get you killed out there."

"Which is why I'm going to be even more careful than usual."

Ike looked at Mia deliberately and let go of her shoulder, "Well, if you find your mind wandering even a little bit, I want you to get out of there, understood?"

"Of course, Boss."

AVAVA

Sudden keening whistles pierced the air, each signifying another Stalfos collapsing into a pile of dusty bones. The screeches of the living skeletons mixed with the pained cries of the men they dispatched before they themselves were silenced. Sealth swung his spear to the side, knocking another Stalfos' skull to the ground and landing on the ribcage with a dry rap. With a final wail, the only beast left standing collapsed under the blow, reduced to a pile of armor and bones.

They had been fighting for at least an hour, long enough for the sun to already begin baking the landscape below. Finally, though, the last Stalfos had fallen, the ground littered with men's bodies and lifeless bones. Melting in the heat, Sealth looked over the crumbled remains of the undead army, breathing heavily. There were not many Hylians standing—several dozen at most—and they all stared in the same confused manner, unsure of whether to cheer or to weep.

"Is… is it over?" The voice beside Sealth was nearly enough to make him jump. He glanced down to see Guru standing beside him, clutching his bleeding left arm tightly.

"I'm not sure," Sealth murmured, wishing that he could peel these heavy metal plates off of his body and stop baking in the heat.

But, could it really have been that easy? Sealth had heard that no Stalfos could be slain with an ordinary blade alone, although Link had never elaborated on this crucial piece of information. Yet, despite all he had been told, the Stalfos lay as dead as skeletons could get, no trick to defeating them, no hidden secret.

Sealth wondered vaguely where Zelgius was. Had he already fallen to the Stalfos' deadly blades? Sealth doubted it; the man didn't seem like to be one who would be killed so easily. He was probably only where Sealth couldn't see him, fighting just like everyone else against those bony monsters.

The desert was silent save the panting of the men, nothing in the sand's expansive girth to restrict it from resonating outward. Then came a sound so soft, it hardly seemed real—the thin, steely rasp of metal being dragged over sand. As the source of the noise reached the crest of the dune, a chill wind blew past the Hylians.

Everyone's attention snapped up to the strange abomination coming into view above them, the odd scratching sound growing slowly louder with its approach. Sealth heard Guru mutter a quiet prayer next to him and silently did the same.

The creature was taller than anything the former commander had seen; taller than any of the bulky Gorons or the lanky Zoras. It easily towered over any and every thing in the desert. The sparse flesh that could be seen through the peeling bandages wrapped around it was a dull gray, the same shade as a tombstone. Its head was small, with hollow, eye-less sockets sitting over a gaping mouth that was nothing more than a destinationless orifice on what one could possibly consider the thing's face.

The defending army staggered back from the creature as it shuffled slowly down from the dune, dragging a double-edged blade nearly as long as it was and just as thick. The cold wind moaned lowly, a sound that didn't belong in the desert, Sealth realized, much less a chilling breeze.

About halfway down the sandy slope, the beast threw its head back suddenly and screeched. The eerie call rose and fell with the moans of dying men and mourning women, breaking bone, and tearing flesh. It slowly settled into a subtle death rattle before ending with a quiet sigh.

Sealth —and every living thing there, for that matter—was frozen in place as soon as the wail began, the horrifying sound bringing the same paralyzing images into their minds. Their families and friends dying in front of them, they themselves following unwillingly… The scream held too much death, too much pain… just too much for any mortal to withstand. It reminded them how fragile life really was, how easily it could be destroyed.

The ReDead Knight's screech, Sealth remembered as the beast slowly closed the last of the distance between it and the front line of petrified Hylians, can still even the bravest of warriors who are unfortunate enough to hear it.

With a low moan, the ReDead swung its blade in front of it, the lethal edge clearing the area in front of the creature of all life. As the unlucky soldiers dyed the earth beneath them a deep red, the remaining Hylians were freed from the foul spell the ReDead had them under.

The wind howled as it flared up suddenly and the living corpse prepared for yet another death shriek. Then the air was abruptly stagnant once more, its whisper replaced by the clicking of bones and the retreat of soldiers as the Stalfos that were thought defeated leapt back to life once more.

Sealth cursed under his breath as the undead being he had just slew once more swung its wickedly curved blade towards him. He brought his lance up quickly to block the strike, the Stalfos whistling and already halfway into its next attack before Sealth even knew what was happening.

The beast showed no sign of fatigue, and it swung its lethal edge easily, as if it wasn't fighting in the same intense heat, the same sluggish sand as Sealth. The commander could see other Stalfos coming towards him, their former opponents left as nothing but a still form lying on red sand. Guru was only a short distance from him, his arm still bleeding, fighting three of the skeletons at once, dodging one blade one second, blocking another the next.

Sealth wanted to help the man, but the many Stalfos surrounding him were relentless. He would have been dead long ago if not for the armor that was cooking him alive in the unrelenting sun just beginning its daily journey across the endless blue desert sky. With a grunt, Sealth spun his lance around him to give him some room, any room to move. All but one Stalfos whistled and leapt back to dodge the strike. The lone beast keened sharply and collapsed back into a pile of lifeless bones.

The remaining five let out a collective hiss and came forward, their skull shields held out in front of them carefully. One slid the metal disc to the side and raised its arm to attack. Sealth quickly stabbed forward with his lance, the metal tip driving under the beast's jaw and into its head, and with a wrench, flung the skull behind him. Another Stalfos took the fallen one's place before its predecessor's head had even hit the sandy ground.

The strange green orbs in the beast's eyes flashed as it swung its blade from the side. Sealth blocked it quickly, only to feel pain lance through his side as another Stalfos took the opportunity to strike his weak side. The sword sliding easily between two plates of metal and into the Hylian who let out a cry, stabbing his lance through the offending monster's chest and swinging it into another roughly. The impaled Stalfos promptly fell apart with a sharp whistle, sliding off Sealth's weapon with a thin slither while the other stumbled to the side only to have a lance thrust in through the side of its head. The beast began to reach up to feel the point of the weapon, but was stopped quickly as its skull popped from its neck and was flung away.

Sealth panted and counted the number of Stalfos left in front of him with a bit of difficulty; only two remained, standing over the pile of scattered bones of their comrades, already rushing forward, blades raised....


End file.
